Wolfheart Zenith
by Vinyl Scarecrow
Summary: A wolf named Haste is forced to rethink his life. Are the lives of innocent beings really worth less the respect of others? With the help of his friends, that wolf learns about how true strength requires selflessness. They must all learn about bravery, suffering, determination, hope, disobedience, and most importantly, sacrifice. Rated M for Language, Violence, and Adult Themes.
1. Chapter 1

**This is part one of a story that I am writing for your enjoyment, and mine. I draw inspiration from many of the stories on this website, and hopefully mine will be of a similar caliber as those.**

**I own nothing here except original characters and settings; everything else belongs to Lauren Faust and Hasbro.**

**This story contains Adult language, themes, and very graphic violence.**

**Enjoy the story.**

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My name is Haste. I have always carried that name, ever since my father entitled it to me seventeen years ago, when I was born. My father gave me that name hoping that I would be superior to those around me, and I have not disappointed him yet.

I am a wolf. I live in a very dense forest with the rest of my pack, which is led by an impossibly large wolf named Tarnished Claw. My father, a very prestigious member of my pack, brought me up himself, but when I turned fifteen, Tarnished Claw himself took responsibility of my upbringing, and for that I am grateful. He has made me the wolf that I am today; faster, nimbler, and swifter than all other wolves in my pack. I am respected for my ferocity in battle, and my relentlessness. I have a bright red coat, with ruddish brown patches on my flank.

I am the envy of all the other young wolves. Tarnished Claw and many of the other wolves respected me, and treated me as their equal. Many would try to pick on me, but I would always send them packing. Whenever we went hunting, I was always chosen as the second most important, under Tarnished Claw. I never disappointed him, and his respect for me only increased.

I lived in a large hut, built from logs and branches. It was one of many that made up our village. As I said earlier, we lived deep in a very dense forest, which had very thick undergrowth below a near-opaque canopy. We hunted, copulated, and thrived.

However, we wolves had only one flaw. With heightened consciousness, comes weakness. Many wolves succumbed to compassion, and became unable to hunt and kill other living things. These wolves became druids, and lived far away. They were scorned, and their names were seldom spoken. For some of the more intelligent species, we had a ritual that we followed to make sure their last days were pleasant. However, many of the crueler wolves were often chosen for these tasks, and they abused the animals for their own pleasure. It was sad, really.

I was thinking about this as I sat in my house, a bowl filled with various fruits lying beside me. I took one in my claw, and wolfed it down, recoiling at the taste. I, unlike many other wolves here, tried to avoid eating meat when possible. The other wolves spread rumors that I was becoming on the 'weaklings' that lived in the forest, but I simply did it so that the pack had to kill less animals to sustain itself. I hated the taste, but as time progressed, my diet changed almost completely to plants. I of course could not completely forgo eating meat, because then I would lack necessary proteins in my diet. But the change of food did help me, surprisingly. I became leaner, and my endurance increased greatly. I loved being superior to the other wolves.

To me, the respect of others was a very powerful driving force. I valued the respect of Tarnished Claw so much, that even though I disliked it, I still helped hunt. I did not enjoy ending the lives of innocent creatures, but such was the cycle of life. If we did not feed, we would die.

My thoughts were dashed by Tarnished Claw entering my home. He was large, almost impossibly large, and had a dull gray coat. His fangs were large, and two protruded nearly a foot from the top of his jaw. A long line of black ran the length of his spine, and marked the top of his tail.

There are three different species of wolves that I should describe. There are earth wolves, who have fangs and claws, and are the most plentiful. Unfortunately for them, however, the way that our society works puts them at the bottom of the social pyramid. They are looked down upon by the two forms of 'superior' wolves; fenrir and wulfir. wulfir are similar to earth wolves, but have blades protruding from their foreheads, much like unicorns have horns. wulfir with greater blades are usually considered similar to royalty. fenrir are also similar to earth wolves, but have long, retractable claws in their forearms. Tarnished Claw, my father and I are all fenrir. My claws are short, a fact that shames me, but is not looked down by our society as much as a wulfir having a poor blade.

Tarnished Claw spoke, his deep voice echoing in my hut. "Haste! How are you?" I stood up straight, and responded.

"I'm good, Tarnished Claw. What brings you to my abode?"

"I am glad that you are feeling well. The reason for my presence here is because I wanted to inform you about tonight's hunt, and to ask you to if you would like to accompany your father in leading the hunt,"

A smile broke out across my muzzle. Not only was my father leading a hunt, which happened rarely, and was a real honor, but I was accompanying him. This was a great opportunity to impress my father, and earn his respect.

"Yes, Tarnished Claw, I would very much like to accompany my father for the hunt. Thank you so much for offering me this opportunity!"

Tarnished Claw just nodded, turned around, and left my hut.

A couple hours later, I was outside my hut preparing for the hunt. My eight-inch long claws were fully extended, and I was scraping them across a thin, dark stone that jutted out of the ground to sharpen them. Satisfied, I retracted my claws and turned around, only to see a pinkish-white she-wolf standing in front of me. She was short, almost a head shorter than me. Long, white hair ran down her neck.

"Hi Haste!" She exclaimed excitedly.

"Hello, Passion," I acknowledged her. Passion was one of my few friends here, everywolf else avoided me instead of trying to get to know me. Passion and a few choice others were the only wolves that I could actually spend time with, and I was grateful for that.

"Hey, I heard that your dad was leading the hunt, and I wanted to say congratulations!" Passion beamed, a large smile plastered across her face.

I smirked, my teeth revealing themselves. "You should be saying congratulations to him, not me. I almost always am chosen for these hunts," I bragged, and tilted my head a little. Passion giggled, and batted me on the nose with her paw.

"Hee hee, you braggart. But you know that's why I love you," She grinned, and leaned forward, rubbing her muzzle against mine.

Passion always spoke like that, her bubbly personality almost always surrounding her, like an aura. I enjoyed having her around, because while the respect of my peers is great, having a friend like Passion is better. I could always confide in her, and she always had the ability to comfort me when I was feeling down. While some wolves would consider her gesture to be romantic, I knew that it was just part of her personality. It was difficult to imagine Passion in a relationship, the bubbly wolf just wanted to be friends with everywolf.

"Well, come on then, the hunt is going to begin soon!" Passion said.

"Alright, I'll be there. Just give me a moment," I said to her as she bounced off, leaving me alone in my yard. I closed my home's door and locked it, hiding the simple wooden key in a tuft of grass next to the flat, black stone that I was just using to sharpen my claws.

After a quick run through the village, I arrived at the outskirts of town, where a congregation of wolves had formed. Burning torches illuminated the area, casting dark shadows from the mass of wolves. I pushed my way to the front of the crowd, and saw Tarnished Claw standing high, with my father standing next to him.

"Wolves of Proudcrag!" Tarnished Claw bellowed. "Tonight, we have an esteemed member of our pack leading the hunt. Follow my friend Raclaw here, and I promise you that we will feast well tonight!" There were enthusiastic howls, and some less-than-heartfelt ones.

My father, Raclaw, singled me out of the crowd, and beamed at me. I saw him, and new just how proud he was of me, and that I wouldn't let him down. 'Don't you worry, dad. I won't disappoint you.'

Tarnished Claw stepped to the side, and my father took his place.

"I will lead, and the rest of you will follow. If I spot prey, I will howl, and we will begin the chase. Does everywolf understand?"

Howls of agreement echoed off of the forest canopy. With that, my father turned tail, and ran into the forest, carving underbrush away with his extended claws. The rest of the pack tore after him, enthusiastically baying. I felt wolves' shoulders brushing against mine as we bounded through the forest. Branches were snapped off of trees as the mass of wolves wove through the forest, an unrelenting force intent on killing tonight.

I ran alongside a creek, two other wolves following behind me. One I could tell was a wulfir because he had a long, thin rapier-like blade protruding from his forehead. I lead the two as we turned, and ran along the edge of a small canyon, which dropped down several metres. I could see the rest of the pack to my left, and I noted that I was to the far right of the group. I ran left, down a hill. My paws gripped the dirt below me, and I pushed myself harder forward. The slope began getting steeper, so I jumped onto a thick tree branch, and ran along the length of it.

It was almost pitch dark, because the canopy did not allow moonlight through. We wolves were very used to the dark, however, so we could see everything well, like it was illuminated by a blue light.

As I ran along the length of the branch, I heard wingbeats above me, and looking up I saw a white shape weaving through the forest. _Prey_.

I heard howling, which signified that the rest of the pack had also caught notice of the flying beast.

I leaped up, and landed on another, thinner, branch above me. It bent under my weight, but I paid it no heed as I jumped off of it and onto another. Around me, other wolves were also climbing, though much more haphazardly than me. I could see the ground below me becoming more distant as I leaped from branch to branch, getting closer to the flying beast.

I could see now that it was a pegasus. It had a white coat, with a matching mane and tail. It flapped its wings furiously, trying to get away from the mass of wolves climbing the trees to get at it.

I was now at the same height as it. I knew that it could not just fly up and away, because of the thick canopy composed of tall, ancient trees. I raced after it, running along paths made from branches lying over one another. Below me, the baying of wolves reached me, driving me forward. I had no idea if my father was watching, but I hoped that he was, so that he could see me catch this pegasus.

I saw the path of branches ending, so I pushed myself harder, and when the branch ended, I kicked down hard with my hind legs, propelling me forward.

Time seemed to slow down. The air below me suddenly cleared up, and I saw just how high I was. My heart seized up, and I reached out my front two legs as far as I could. I began to drop. My eyes remained pried open as my paws touched tree bark, and I wrapped my legs around the thick tree. I began to slide down, so I fully extended my claws and stabbed them deep into the wood. My body smacked against the rough bark, but I held fast.

I took a deep breath, and without looking down kicked against the tree with my hind legs, yanking my claws out of the wood. I pushed myself off, and onto a branch.

My heart was pounding away in my chest. While I have often practiced climbing the trees near my home, I have never had to focus on chasing something while climbing them, and I was beginning to wear out. My fur was damp with sweat. Ahead, I saw that the pegasus had managed to get farther away from me, because it did not have to focus on finding branches to run on. I gritted my teeth, and ran after it.

The pegasus and I have now long since left the rest of the pack behind us, the other wolves not nearly agile enough to chase us in this environment. The white pegasus and I were both tired, and our speed had decreased greatly.

Suddenly, the white horse dove down, past branches brimming with pine needles, towards the forest floor. I hesitated, stopping at the end of a long, thick branch. `Shit!' I thought. 'It's going to get away, and I will have disappointed both my father and Tarnished Claw.' I closed my eyes, and took a deep breath.

'Come on, Haste! You can do this!' I thought to myself, and leaped down, pushing myself off of the branch with my hind legs.

Wind whipped past me, and I held my front two legs in front of me so that I would slice through the air faster. The white pegasus stood out in the dark green forest like a wolf wearing a wedding dress at a funeral. That pegasus was my target, and I was determined not to miss.

A branch struck me in the face, its needles stinging me. I bounced off of it, and entered a steep spin, away from the pegasus. However, it also sped me up, and I was now at the same height as the pegasus.

Once again, time seemed to slow down as I got my first good look at the pegasus. It was a mare, with stunning grey eyes wide open in fear. Its face was bloodied from collisions with branches and trees, the red a stark contrast with the white of her coat. Her white mane and tail were dirtied and uncombed, which I took as sings of her fatigue.

I saw one of her eyes dart towards me, and widened in shock when she saw me falling next to her. I swiped at her, my claws fully extended, but she leaned away, and my claws cut only through air. I barked at her, and she leaned farther away.

'Shit! I'm losing her!' I looked behind me, and saw a thick, moss-covered trunk. I leaned back, pressed my back legs against it, and kicked off as hard as I could. I flew forward, and saw the Pegasus coming closer and closer.

'Yes! This is it!' I brought my front paws back, and then swiped forward as hard as my fatigued muscles would let me. My claws raked through her flank, sending arcs of blood through the air. She shrieked, her face contorted in a visage of pain. Her wings seized up, and I gripped her tightly as we plummeted down.

The ground met us, and it was not very welcoming at all. Fortunately for me, I was on top of the white pegasus when we hit the forest floor. A wet, cracking sound rang out in my ears right before I smacked into her back. Pain shot through my chest, engulfing me, and then making way for a terrifying numbness. Air rushed out of my lungs, and filled the space around me like a musky cloud. I pushed myself off of the broken pegasus below me, and sat down on my rump. Behind me, I heard the baying of wolves, which meant that help was on the way. The last thing that I remembered before passing out was the image of the blood-stained pegasus, belly up, lying on her mutilated wings.

All was dark. Then, a fog settled over my ears, and I began to hear voices, whispering. The whispering got louder, and turned into talking. I could hear my father, and our village doctor talking, but I had difficulty understanding what they were saying.

I cracked my eyes open, and my vision was flooded with bright sunlight. I stirred, moving the blanket that covered my body off of me. My chest burned, like I had just ran for many hours non-stop and was now granted rest, but was unable to rest because my body was too wound up. My legs felt sore, and I could move them slightly, but stiffly.

"Haste, you're awake! Oh thank goodness!" I looked up to see my father, a tall, orange-furred wolf standing over me. I was lying on a bed in our village doctor's home, with sunlight pouring into the room through the open windows. The doctor, a grayish-white earth wolf, stood opposite my father, on the other side of my bed. He held a clipboard in one paw.

"Ah, I see you are awake." The doctor asked, inquisitively. "How do you feel?"

I rubbed my forehead, grimacing. "There's a burning in my chest, and my legs feel stiff." I rasped. Something else came to mind, as I realized that the sun was high in the sky, its rays stabbing through the canopy.

"Doctor Rags, how long have I been unconscious?" I asked the young doctor. Doctor Rags was one of the few Earth wolves here who had respect and influence equal to that of fenrir, and even some wulfir.

"You've been out for just the length of the night, and this morning. Fifteen hours, give or take." The doctor said, looking up from his clipboard. He wrote something down, and set the clipboard onto a bedstand.

"Now, it seems like you have some very serious bruising on your chest, and it looks like your legs may have been fractured, if only partially. I would stay off of them if I were you, and just stay here until everything is fully healed. You will have to wait much less if you do less physical activity." Doctor Rags spoke in a serious voice. "I think it will take only a week or so to heal. We can move you to your home, if you want,"

I shook my head. "No thanks, Doctor Rags, but I think I will be fine, more or less. Thank you for your help." Doctor Rags shrugged, and was about to walk off, when something else came to mind.

"Doctor, how is the pegasus I caught? Is she… alive?" I asked, somewhat hopeful that she had survived the fall.

"See for yourself, Haste!" Doctor Rags beamed, and stepped aside to reveal a bandaged white pegasus lying on a bed in the far side of the room. Her mane and coat were matted, with dark red blood still stuck to her. Her wings were awfully bent, one jutting out backwards. She was alive, and conscious.

She stared straight up at the ceiling, and did not acknowledge that Doctor Rags had just pointed her out. She had a morose and sorrowful expression on her face, her eyes damp with tears. I realized that she must already know that she was now just livestock, waiting to be killed and eaten. While the doctor had done everything he could to make her last days here more comfortable, she was still visible shaken by the fact that she, inevitably, was going to die soon. It made me sick just to think about it.

I hated the fact that we wolves had to eat meat. Just look at the ponies, unicorns, and pegasi! They don't eat meat; they only eat plants, and live perfectly happy lives. Well, most of them at least. But alas, such is the plight of us wolves.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more work to do." Doctor Rags said, and walked off, out the door. When he closed it behind him, my father, who had been standing close by this whole time, spoke up.

"I am so proud of you boy! You caught that pegasus, all by yourself!" My father beamed, a huge smile across his face. All thoughts that I had about the pegasus vanished, and I was filled with the comforting glow of a father's adoration.

'Yes! I successfully made my father proud, and single-handedly caught my toughest pray yet! I am certain to get so much more respect from the rest of the pack. This is the best day of my life so far!' I thought, happily.

"Thanks, dad. You have no idea how much that means to me," I said, smiling.

"Tomorrow's feast will be held in your honor. Every wolf will be chanting your name, you hear?" My father continued. He rubbed my head with a paw, then said goodbye and left me alone with the white pegasus.

'Right… tomorrow's feast…' I thought, my thoughts suddenly becoming somber. I glanced at the pegasus, who still lay unmoving, staring at the ceiling. I realized then that she must have already accepted her fate, and was just waiting now.

The pegasus was tied down by thick belts, so as to prevent her from trying to escape. I somewhat wished that I could just untie her and let her fly away, but I knew that from the way her wings looked, she would probably not be able to fly at all.

I sat up, and moved my legs over to the edge of the bed, facing the mare. I jumped off, onto my four legs, and walked up to her bed. The pegasus lay unmoving. I stood over her, and looked over her face.

Her grey eyes were brimmed with red, and dark bags sat beneath them. I thought that they would look beautiful, under other circumstances. Dark stains trailed down from her eyes, along her cheeks. I wondered how long she had been conscious now.

I felt my chest tighten, and I realized just how bad I felt for this mare.

'Maybe, maybe if I had just let her go last night…' I was a horrible wolf. I was evil. If I was not so desperate for my father's respect, she would have lived to live a full life. But no, I was unsatisfied with what I had, and needed more. Of course, if we hadn't caught this pegasus, we probably would have hunted down some other creature, so in the end it probably would not matter that much. I mustered up the courage to speak with this broken pegasus, and opened my mouth.

"I'm sorry." The mare slowly, ever so slowly, tilted her head towards me. Her silver eyes locked onto mine, and I could see the emptiness behind them.

"You single-hoofedly ended my life." She stated simple, her lips barely moving. Her voice was angelic, but pained. She turned her head away from me, revealing her matted, bloodstained mane. I felt my heartstrings tear.

'Now I know why the druids leave,' I thought. 'They can't stand to feel this every time they have to eat.'

I observed the rest of her. It was clear that she suffered much more from that fall than I did. Bandages were wound around her stomach and chest, and they were stained deeply with blood. From the way she looked, I thought it a miracle she survived. 'Doctor Rags can really work wonders,' I thought.

I left her side, and walked out of Doctor Rags' home. The village was teeming with life, with wolves everywhere going about their duties. I located the path that would lead me back to my home, and followed it. I passed wolves and pups, all running and playing nonchalantly. Unfortunately, the joy that hung in the air was lost on me. I was deep in thought, thinking about the state of my current life.

Do I just keep on living like this? Having to overcome my own compassion for the life of others, while accumulating more and more respect from those around me? I led a good life, but was it really worth it? What about when it ends? What then?

I will have done nothing with my life but left a memory of a great wolf imprinted in the minds of others. As great as that was, it dawned on me that I did not want that. Why should I spend the rest of my life acting like a soulless monster, slaying living thing after living thing just to erect a monument of my greatness in the minds of others, who also slowly wasted away? It now seemed pointless.

But… what if I did something else? What if I ran away, and left this life behind me? I wouldn't have to endure the killings of innocent creatures, but at a cost. All respect that was held for me would vanish, and would be replaced with disappointment and hate. My father would be ashamed to have me as a son. Is that really worth it? Seventeen years of my life will have gone to waste. My life would become useless.

Surely there was something else I could do? My thoughts drifted further, and I remembered the white Pegasus. What if…

…what if I saved her? Smuggled her out of my village, and ran away? She could show me where to bring her, and I could bring her home. But then what? I will then have helped one life, so I suppose that was better than nothing. It would still make my life forfeit, and everything that I have worked for will be gone to waste.

However, there was always a chance of my life becoming better. Maybe the pegasus could help me find another home? I could try to repent, to atone for my crimes against innocent lives. There was no chance of me living with my fellow wolves again, I would become a pariah. I suppose I could always live with the other druids, but that was a shallow life that I did not want to live.

I was still deep in thought when a group of wolves approached me. I looked up, and saw my friends standing in front of me, blocking the path.

"Hey Haste! Are you feeling better, mate?" A light blue wulfir spoke up. He had darker blue combed over the side of his head, covering one stunning sea blue eye. A long, elegant blade protruded through his well-combed hair. The wolves' bottom lip was curled up in a sneer. His name was Advocacy, and he was the son of one of our village's few royalty figures. He had a very bratty personality, but we had learned to appreciate each other. Advocacy was a much better wolf, socially, than most royalty. His father did not approve of his mingling with common wolves like us, but Advocacy could care less.

Next to Advocacy stood a tan wulfir with a rough, frazzled coat. Scars coated the wulfir, showcasing the many, many fights that he has been in. He had dark brown eyes that betrayed an inner kindness. The wolf was a brute, scar-covered muscles bulging. He was bland, and far less colorful than many other wolves that lived in our town. His most defining feature was probably his blade. It was a large double-bladed axe head, spanning nearly a foot. It was dented and scarred like the rest of him. This wulfir was named Beque, but we just called him Bec. He was one of my closest friends, because we were almost opposites of each other. He was strong and tough, while I was quick and nimble. I also knew that he harbored resentment for the wolf kind for the same reason I did.

To the right of Advocacy was a short, orange earth wolf. He had unkempt brown hair, and a tail that was cut off short in a tuft of hair. The wolf was small, almost three times smaller than Beque. He was scrawny, but looked well-fed and energetic. His name was Deer, and he was Advocacy's squire. Advocacy's parents disliked Deer, because he was just a street urchin, but Advocacy had taken him in to be his squire, and refused to get a better-mannered, proper squire like all other royalty. This was just another example of Advocacy's hidden kindness.

Next to Deer was another one of my friends, Irae. Irae was a purple fenrir she-wolf with short purple hair. A stripe of black ran down her back. She was just slightly smaller than me. Her claws were long, much longer than mine, when fully extended. Irae never bragged about her claws, unlike me, because she was a quiet and reserved fenrir. She rarely spoke unless necessary and her words were often interlaced with wisdom that came from hours of reading. Irae spent most of her time reading books, locked away in her home. She was very studious, and knew a lot about not only our village's history, but also about the history of the land outside of the forest in which we lived.

And finally, there was Passion. Passion was a pink earth wolf, and was the second smallest of our group, the smallest being Deer. Passion was the friendliest and most social of our group, and knew most wolves in our village. She was always the most willing to help out a friend in need.

"I am fine, Advocacy." I nodded my head in greeting. "Hello, friends! How can I help you?"

"We just wanted to see if you were fit to join us this evening. We are going down to the waterfall, to have some fun. I even managed to convince Irae to join us!" Advocacy spoke, and tilted his head towards Irae, who blushed, and looked away.

Irae had confessed to me many months ago that she was attracted to the upper-class wulfir, but lacked the social skills to actually speak with Advocacy about it. So I told the group, without revealing the reason why, to try and involve Irae in any activities that we partake in as a group. So far, I think that it has really been helping.

I decided to put off my thoughts about my future, and spend this time having fun with my friends.

"Sure, I'll join you. You know how much I enjoy that waterfall," I said, and Passion yipped excitedly.

"Fantastic! Let's get going then," Advocacy said, and we took off into the forest. I ran alongside Passion, while Deer and Beque sprinted off ahead, determined to each be the first one there. Advocacy and Irae were slower, as they were less physically active as the rest of us.

We arrived at the waterfall before long. It was a smallish, ten-metre high waterfall that poured into a medium sized lake. Several logs lay criss-cross in the corners of the lake, making 'docks' of sorts. Tall, thick trees outlined the lake, leaving a large hole in the canopy, through which sunlight poured through, reflecting off of the lake water.

Bec, looking very pleased with himself, was standing neck-deep in water. Deer was paddling furiously towards him, his fur wet and dripping. I smiled, forgetting my worries, and ran up the hill to the top of the waterfall.

I jumped down; my legs splayed out in all directions, and closed my eyes when I met the cold water. I sunk to the very bottom of the lake, where my legs found purchase, and I pushed up. I surfaced laughing, my wet fur clinging to my body. Like all wolves, I enjoyed playing in the water very much.

'At least that's one thing that I can never lose,' I thought to myself, then pushed the thought out of my mind. I came here to have fun and relax, not tire myself by thinking.

I looked at Bec, who was paddling after Deer. Deer was furiously working his little legs, trying to get away from the lumbering behemoth, but to no avail. Bec caught up with him, and grabbed his hind legs. Deer squeaked as he was pulled out of the water and thrown head over heels to the other end of the lake, into which he unceremoniously plunged. Bec, Advocacy, Passion and I all laughed heartily, while Irae just became flustered at the poor pup's treatment. Steaming with anger, Deer swam back.

I began to swim towards the pile of logs on the far end of the lake when I felt wet paws on my shoulders. I craned my neck back, and saw Passion on my back.

"Boo!" She squealed, and shoved me underwater. I rose up quickly, and when I saw her paddling away, gave chase.

"Damn you Passion!" I raged, jokingly.

"Me? What did I do?" Passion asked innocently. I didn't answer, and instead dove at her, grabbing her flank and pushing her underwater, just like she did to me. Passion came up laughing.

I heard a high-pitched squeal, and saw Advocacy using his paws to send large waves at Irae, who was sopping wet, like the rest of us. Advocacy just laughed, and sent more at her. Irae just floated there with a dumbfounded expression on her face.

Advocacy paddled up to her, and grabbed her chest, pushing them both down below the lake's surface. I saw Irae waving her legs frantically, splashing the water above her. Honestly, it looked more like a shark mauling prey than two wolves playing, from how Irae was struggling to get away. She did finally break free, and swam away from Advocacy, her face flushed, with a silly grin plastered on her face.

It was this kind of behavior that Advocacy's parents hated. Instead of being a proper, mannered gentlewolf like they wanted him to be, Advocacy acted like a common wolf. He ran through the forest with the rest of us, he played games with the rest of us, and he wasn't afraid to get his paws dirty. His greatest wish was to participate in a hunt, but his parents wouldn't stand for it.

Before we knew it, evening had already reared its head. The sun had long since gone down, and the moon hung high in the sky, shining down on the lake. It reflected like a giant silver disc over the lake. Crickets chirped loudly, filling the air around us with melody.

"Well, it's been lovely, and I thank you all for inviting me, but I must be going. See y'all!" I said, jumping out of the water, and onto the shore. I shook my fur dry, and began the trek back to the village.

"Hold on, Haste! We'll be right with you." I paused, and waited for my friends to all get out of the water and shake themselves off, before continuing walking. They caught up with me, and we walked side-by-side back to the village.

When we arrived there, I saw lots of lit torches, and a mass of wolves in the town centre.

'Of course,' I thought. 'Tomorrow's the feast, and they are finding a wolf to "pleasure" the Pegasus on her last night here.'

We walked up to the side of the crowd, and saw Tarnished Claw standing upright, his front legs resting on a podium. He opened his mouth again, and spoke, his voice echoing through the forest.

"Tomorrow is the feast, and we have fresh meat, thanks to my friend Haste," he scanned the crowd, trying to find me, but I was too far to the side for him to notice me.

"However, this here pegasus," Tarnished Claw gestured to the bound pegasus behind him, "was caught alive, and you know what that means. Somewolf needs to make her last night here pleasant,"

The crowd burst into chatter, talking amongst themselves. I saw some of the crueler wolves snickering amongst themselves, and winced when I heard them.

"Check out that sexy piece of flank!"

"I gotta get me some of that,"

"Fuck you guys, she's mine!"

The hairs on my neck stood up imagining what horrible things they would do to that mare. Fortunately, Tarnished Claw is wise, so he won't choose those no-good wolves. Right?

"So, anywolf who wishes to volunteer for this task should raise their paw now, so I can choose somewolf," Tarnished Claw spoke, and a few paws shot up into the air. I was dismayed greatly when I saw only the cruel wolves and a few select others, who were not much better, raise their paws.

My heart began to pound harder in my chest. I couldn't just let these horrible wolves have their way with that mare. I felt responsible for her, and needed to protect her, if only for tonight. I gulped, realizing what I needed to do.

"Alright…" Tarnished Claw muttered to himself, looking over the wolves raising their paws. He knew that those wolves were up to no good, but he had to choose somewolf! "Is that all? Anywolf else?"

"Tarnished Claw! I volunteer!" I shouted, and raised my paw high in the air. The crowd of wolves all turned their heads and stared at me. I turned beet red, realizing the nature of the task that I had volunteered for. Tarnished Claw, however, was overjoyed to see a wolf he could trust volunteer.

"Ah, Haste! Perfect, seeing as you did catch this pegasus. Come here, boy!" I gulped again, and stalked up to Tarnished Claw, avoiding the hate-filled looks of the wolves that had been denied their fun. Tarnished Claw lowered his voice, and spoke quietly so that only I would hear.

"Thank goodness you volunteered. All the other wolves who wanted her were up to no good-I can tell,"

"I know, Tarnished Claw. That's why I volunteered."

"Well, the pegasus will thank you for that. Now go on, take her home. I will pick her up in the morning." I nodded, and turned to the pegasus, who was standing the background, her back two legs tied to a post. She glared at me.

I walked up to her, unsheathed my claws, and sliced effortlessly through her bonds.

"If you think you can make up for what you did, you're wrong," the pegasus said, her voice dripping with hate. I avoided looking her in the eye, and led her away from the town centre, my paw on her shoulder. Once we were out of sight from the rest of the town, she shrugged my paw off her shoulder, and walked alongside me, head down.

I'll be honest, I felt like shit right now. This mare hated me with every essence of her being, and I knew that I deserved it. As much as I wanted to help her, that would be suicide. We would never get away if she was in such a state. It would take an army to fend off the rest of the village once they found out about our escape.

My thoughts were rudely interrupted by a group of wolves stepping in our way. This time, however, it was not my friends. It was the group of wolves who had wanted to use her for their own pleasure, and they were undoubtedly here to get what had been taken from them.

"Hey there, fucker. What'cha got there?" the lead one spoke up, his voice cold and raspy.

"Oh, it's that sexy mare! You know what you should do?" A wolf next to him spoke up.

"You should give her to us, and we won't trouble you," the lead wolf finished. The wolves were moving closer and closer to us.

"Fuck. Off." I spat on the ground, and unsheathed my claws. They were nothing impressive, but I only took them out because of the fight that was inevitable.

"The only thing I want to fuck is her," The lead wolf sneered, and leaped forward. I, however, had anticipated his action, and threw my paws forward, driving my claws into his head. The combined momentum of his leap and my thrust sunk my claws deep into his skull.

The wolf went limp, his legs flopping forward and then dropping to the ground. I slid my claws out of his head, and raised them in front of me as a warning to the other wolves. However, they believed that they could take me as a group, and howled before charging at me.

I stepped back, and then dashed forward to meet them, the blood that had been spilled onto the floor clinging to my paws. A wulfir with a short, blunt-looking blade swung at me, but I deflected his attack off of one set of claws, and swiped through his neck with the other. He dropped, and I sidestepped to avoid an earth wolves' bite. I spun around, kicked the wolf in the jaw, and then swiped to the side to wound another. The pack of wolves backed off, momentarily deterred by my impenetrable defense. Two wolves lay on the ground dead, and two more were stumbling off to the side, wounded.

Four more wolves were still standing, and seemed unsure as to how to proceed. One, a fenrir, unsheathed his claws and ran at me. I raised my paws to block him, but slipped on blood and fell to the side. We both fumbled, and he fell over as well. I quickly leaped to my feet, and raked my claws through the face of an earth wolf who had tried to take this advantage to attack me. He howled in pain, and held his paws to his gouged-out eyes, trying to stop the flow of blood. The fenrir who had just slipped trying to attack me stood back up, one side of his muzzle coated with blood that stained the ground, and saw his friend screaming in agony, clutching his face. He, and the other four wolves, decided that it was not worth the effort, and slunk off, defeated.

I looked around me. Two wolves lay dead on the ground, one with his head barely attached to his neck. Another, the one I had just wounded, lay convulsing, blood flowing out of his eye sockets like waterfalls. I felt sick, because I have never seen this kind of violence before, let along caused it.

I glanced at the pegasus, who stood slack-jawed, her eyes brimmed with tears at having witnessed this fight. I retracted my claws, and walked up to her.

"Sorry you had to see that. You have no idea what they would have done to you."

The pegasus just looked at the bodies, then at me. She saw me as a heartless murderer, and, once again, I deserved it. At least she saw me as only what I really was, and not some as something I wasn't or pretended to be.

"Come on, let's get out of here. Somewolf will just clean this up later." I said somberly, and put my paw on her shoulder, blood dripping onto her pure white coat. The pegasus nodded hesitantly, and began walking.

We arrived at my house without any further interruptions. I opened the door, and let her in.

My house had only three rooms; a main, central room, a bathroom with a large, wooden tub, and my bedroom. Each of these rooms had a shuttered window to let light into it. In the main room, which we were in right now, stood a large couch on which my bowl of fruits lay untouched since yesterday.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to wash all this…blood off of me." I said, closing the door behind us. The Pegasus said nothing.

"Also, please, don't try running away. It will do you no good to try and escape in our current state; you will just get yourself killed," I told her, because I feared that she would just run off the moment I go in my bathroom.

The pegasus just nodded, and walked over to the couch, onto which she lay down on. She took a fruit from the bowl, and began to eat it.

'I wonder if she's had anything to eat since yesterday,' I thought, and closed the bathroom door behind me. I walked over to the large wooden tub, which had a showerhead over it, and stepped in. I turned on the shower, and let the warm water wash the other wolves' blood out of my fur.

I continued washing myself until all of the murky red liquid was gone from my dark red hide, and then turned the shower off. I shook myself dry, and then used a towel to dry the spots that I missed. Stepping out of the tub, I wiped my feet on a cloth mat.

I opened the bathroom door. I saw the pegasus lying on the ground, holding a quill with one hoof. She was writing on a piece of parchment, which she must have gotten from my chest of belongings in my bedroom. Her ears perked up upon my entering, so she must have heard me, but she did not acknowledge me. I walked up to her, and sat down beside her.

"What are you doing?" I asked. She stopped writing, and looked up at me.

"I'm writing a letter to my family," She said simply. I was taken aback somewhat. I had not even thought about if she had a family. Was she married? Did she have foals?

"Who is in your family?" I asked, curious.

"Just my parents." She answered, and then squinted at me. "What business is it of yours, anyway?"

"Listen, miss pegasus; I'll have you know that I feel really bad for catching you. No wolf likes to end someone's life, even if they are another species," I told her.

"Then why did you catch me? You could have just let me go,"

I sighed, and looked down guiltily. "This was the first hunt that I went on with my father, and I wanted to make him proud of me,"

The pegasus furrowed her eyebrows at me. "…Really? You were willing to end my life, just so you could make your daddy proud? You are heartless and stupid!" She near shouted at me. I winced, knowing that I deserved everything she threw at me.

"Please…I'm sorry! You are right, I was stupid!" I cowered under her, hiding my face behind my paws. Gone was my normal egotism and pride. It was all replaced with shame, and the white pegasus saw that.

"Well, it's too late now. My fate is sealed, and I am going to die tomorrow," She sighed, all vigor leaving her.

"Please, tell me. How do you plan on having that letter reach your parents, anyway?" I asked her, grateful that she had stopped her oratory assault.

"I was hoping that some wolf would be kind enough to deliver it to them. Why? Do you want to?" She asked, with just a bit of hopefulness in her voice.

I had now already made up my mind. It was the hardest decision of my life, but it had also seemed so obvious and simple.

"Better. I am going to bring you to them." The pegasus' eyes widened.

"You are going to let me see them one last time?" She asked, unsure of what I meant.

"No, I'm going to get you out of here, no matter what it takes. What I did to you and others before you was soulless and cruel, and I want to repent. I hope that at least one good action like this will allow me to die happy," I said, looking straight at her.

She was flabbergasted. Shocked. She had, by now, already accepted her fate. But this wolf was changing that! As much as she hated him for doing this to her in the first place, she also now saw a spark of kindness, one that was impossible to see earlier through the layers of blood that had covered the wolf.

"But… you said earlier that you had done this to make your father proud. Are you really going to just throw that away?" She asked, still not fully accepting that there was still a chance of her surviving.

I closed my eyes, and lowered my head, so that it rested against the ground.

"I think that your life is worth more than the respect of another." I opened my eyes, and looked at her. We were both lying on the ground, facing each other. The white pegasus cracked a smile, a hint of happiness showing in her grey eyes.

"Thank you… I now know that I had misjudged you. Forgive what I said," she said softly, "you really do have a soul."

I couldn't help but feel overjoyed at seeing her happy. A lopsided grin spread across my face.

"Now rest up, you're going to need lots of energy tomorrow." I helped her to her feet, and led her to my bedroom. Helping her get comfortable, I told her goodnight and went to the main room, where I lay down on the couch. She did, after all, need a more comfortable rest tonight.

As I drifted slowly into sleep, I didn't think of how much Tarnished Claw and my father would be disappointed of me.

No, I thought about how happy the white pegasus would be at seeing her parents again.

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**A big thank you to everyone who bothered reading this far! I hope you enjoyed my story so far, and if you are waiting for more, even better; it means I have done a good job. **

**Please, please, **_**please**_** review, because seeing as I get no profit from writing this, the least I can get is recognition for a job well done, if you believe this is any good. Also, reviews help motivate me to write more.**

**I also want to say a word about how I want this story to go. I believe that the best feeling in the world is overcoming something difficult, and having everything turn out fine. Just releasing all that pent-up worry is a very euphoric feeling. I want to have you readers experience this as much as possible, but that is very difficult unless you are fully engaged in the story, and actually worry for the characters. Please review so that I can make this story as engaging as possible!**

**It took me about a week of staying up late every day to finish this, so please expect the second part to be done in the same amount of time.**

**Once again, thank you so much for taking the time out of your day and life to enjoy this story.**


	2. Chapter 2

**And just like that, I have another chapter written! **

**Thanks to anyone who enjoyed the previous chapter enough to bother reading this one, it means a lot to me if you take time out of your day to read my story.**

* * *

I felt myself rising slowly out of my slumber, but instead of trying to hold on to it like I usually did, I completely abandoned it, and shot awake.

I was lying on a sofa in my house's main room. It was dark. Moonlight slipped into the room between the window's shutters, casting stripes of light on the ground. I heard the loud moaning of the wind outside as it wove between trees.

I stretched, my bones popping and crackling as they shifted into their usual places. Blinking several times, I stalked over to the bathroom, and entered it. I turned the sink handle and used my paws to splash cold water over my face, banishing any remains of sleep that I still had.

I walked up to the doorway separating my house's main room and my bedroom. A form was lying under the covers in my bed, moving ever so slightly as it breathed. I walked up to it, my footsteps muffled by the dirt floor.

A white Pegasus lay on my bed, with cloth covers covering its body. Its chest and stomach were bandaged heavily, covering wounds sustained from the hunt two days ago. The pegasus' wings were bent dramatically, having been damaged the most. Her mouth was ajar slightly, and wispy breath leaked out of it every time she exhaled. She looked so peaceful, it was almost a shame that I had to wake her so early.

"Hey…wake up!" I whispered, and shook her shoulder with my paw. The pegasus stirred, and cracked her eyes open slightly. Yawning quietly, she rubbed her muzzle with one hoof.

"Wha? Is it time to get up already?" She asked. Her voice was dry and raspy.

"Here, let me get you some water. But yeah, we have to get up if we want to get a good head start," I told her, and walked out of the room. I grabbed the bowl of fruits, dumped them out, and filled the bowl with water from the bathroom sink. When I came back to my bedroom, the white pegasus was already up, stretching her legs.

"Here you go. Now hurry up, we're losing time." The mare took the bowl, gulped down the water, and set down the bowl on my bed. She arched her back and tried stretching her wings, but only managed to twitch them slightly. However, that did not alter her anxious mood, and we walked over to my front door.

I cracked it open slightly, and looked outside. The moon was still high up in the sky, so I assumed that only six or so hours had passed since we went to bed. That means that we had a good four before the other wolves woke up, and discovered that we had escaped.

I opened the door fully, and stepped outside. Everything was a luminescent blue, casting a peaceful feeling over the town. The pegasus and I sunk in this feeling as we trotted quietly through town, trying not to make any noise. The pegasus grunted every now and then from the pain in her chest, and I realized that I would have to support her most of the way.

"So, miss pegasus, where to? Do you know where the closest pony town is that we can get to?" I asked her, my voice barely a whisper.

"The closest town is Ponyville, but it is still really far away. It should be a good ten or so miles that way," the pegasus answered, gesturing South with her hoof. Funny, I didn't know there were any pony towns even remotely close to where we were. We turned South, and walked down a path bordered by houses. It almost felt like we were being watched and observed, even though I knew that everywolf was asleep right now.

"My name's Lunarescense, by the way," the white pegasus said, facing me. A fitting name, I thought, because of how similar her coat was to the moonlight that lit our path.

"Can I just call you Luna? Lunarescense is a really long name to use in casual conversation," I asked. Lunarescense shook her head furiously.

"No, no, no. We ponies are ruled by two princesses, Celestia and Luna, and it would be offensive to use one of the great princesses' names to address me. Please, just call me Lunarescense." I nodded in response.

"Alright, I'll call you Lunarescense if you want," I said. Wow, I had no idea that ponies were ruled by princesses. I was learning a remarkable amount of things about the world outside of this forest tonight. Of course Irae, being the bookworm that she is, probably already knew these things already.

Lunarescense and I soon reached the very outskirts of town. We had not been spotted, and we ourselves had not seen a single soul. Now, we could talk normally without fear of getting caught.

"So, Lunarescense, what exactly were you doing in this forest before I caught you?" Lunarescense was about to answer when I heard a familiar voice speak out, surprising us both.

"I thought I would find you here." I looked up in shock, realizing that we had been caught. I relaxed only marginally when I realized that it was Irae, her purple coat difficult to see in the dark.

"I-Irae? What are you doing here?" I stuttered. She smirked, and stepped closer.

"I know you well enough to see when you are stressed out about something, even when you are trying to hide it. And when you volunteered to take the pegasus home, it hinted at what you planned to do. I also had a theory of sorts, but wasn't sure until now," she continued, her tone of voice making me feel like I was being lectured.

"And that is?" I asked, having now gotten over my initial shock.

"That you were soft." Irae stated bluntly. I recoiled slightly at her words. An emotion passed through me that I did not feel often.

Fear. I was afraid. I was afraid. I had no idea what Irae's intentions were, and I worried that I might have to confront her.

"Please, just leave and forget you saw me here. I have to…" Irae interrupted me.

"You have to what?" I winced, and gave my answer.

"I have to atone. For too long, I have been killing and hunting innocent beings. Please, understand that I cannot live like this anymore," I pleaded, and I saw Irae falter slightly. Then, she regained her composure and walked forward, towards me. I tried backing away, but she caught up with me, and in a swift motion, wrapped her front legs around my neck.

I panicked and tried squirming away, when I realized that she was hugging me. And just like that, all fear and panic that I had melted away. I pressed my neck against hers, and we stood like that until Irae broke away from me.

"Thank goodness, Haste. I thought I was the only one…" Irae trailed off.

"What?" I asked her inquisitively.

"I thought I was the only one who was soft," Irae finished.

"Whatever do you mean?" Lunarescense spoke up, stepping forward. She had, until now, been silent and just observed our conversation.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, miss Lunarescense. What I meant by soft is that, well, some wolves here are too compassionate for our prey's life, and break away from the pack. I, myself, was planning on leaving soon," Irae said, looking down.

"In that case, I have you to thank as well," Lunarescense said, and raised her hoof. Hesitantly, Irae grasped it with her paw and shook it.

"Well, if you are done, Lunarescense and I have to get going, if we want to get far enough away before the rest of the pack discovers our disappearance. Thank you, Irae. For understanding." I said, and nodded respectfully to her. I then raised my head, and trotted past her, Lunarescense following behind me.

"Wait!" I heard Irae call out, and turned to see her trot up next to me. "I'm going with you."

"Irae…are you sure?" I asked, worried about the frail wolf.

"Yes, I am certain. And besides, I already made my peace with this town," She said, gesturing behind her.

"Whatever do you mean?" I asked her.

Irae was about to speak up, when we heard a cough behind us. It was quiet, but definitely made to catch our attention. Lunarescense, Irae, and I all turned, wide-eyed. Behind us stood a medium-sized, lean wulfir. He had a long, thin blade protruding from his forehead.

"Advocacy? Is that you?" I said, my voice shaking again from yet another unexpected wolf catching us.

"Yes, it's me. Now, you all were saying something about leaving Proudcrag with this here pegasus?" Advocacy said, raising one eyebrow.

"Advocacy, p-please, I can explain," Irae began, her voice cracking, when Advocacy stalked up to us, and silenced her.

"Nah, it's all cool. I'm going with you," he said, without skipping a beat. Lunarescense, Irae, and I deadpanned from the unexpected words uttered by our friend.

"You what now?" I said, breaking the silence.

"Well, there are several reasons I can give," Advocacy began, raising one paw. "One, you are my friend, and you have earned my loyalty, so I am with you no matter what you do."

I was shocked by his words. As long as I had known Advocacy, he had never said anything of such caliber. He was willing to give up his entire life, his prestige, and social status just to help a friend.

"Two," Advocacy continued, "If Irae is going, so am I," this confused me, but I continued listening.

"Three; after my parents found out that I had gone out with a common, non-royalty wolf, they flipped a bitch. However, I could care less for their opinions, so I told them to fuck themselves. You can imagine how they reacted," Advocacy continued, snickering. I also laughed alongside him, when something dawned on me.

"You went out with someone? When?" I asked. Irae stepped forward, and answered, a hint of a blush on her cheeks.

"When I told you I had made peace with this town, this is what I had really meant," Irae said, took a deep breath, and continued.

"After you took Lunarescense home, I sought out Advocacy, and confessed my feelings for him." Advocacy grinned, and continued for her.

"When she told me how she felt, I, like a proper wolf, treated her to a nice dinner, and we had a delightful evening. Unfortunately, word must have reached my parents, because they were pissed when I got home." Irae nodded slightly, and nuzzled Advocacy's neck with her muzzle.

"Sorry about that," she said.

"It's cool, anything that pisses my parents off is cool with me," Advocacy said, then turned to me.

"So, are we going, or not?" I just stared at him blankly, then shook myself back to reality when I realize what he said. "Right, right. Let's get going."

The four of us began walking, with Lunarescense and me in front, Irae and Advocacy behind us. We wave around trees, over logs, and ran along rivers and creeks. We made a good amount of progress, having gone about a mile or so before the sun rose over the horizon. However, Lunarescense was beginning to feel tired, so we stopped temporarily. While she rested, I spoke with her.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" I asked her, worry coursing through me.

"My chest hurts a lot. I fear that I will be slowing us down greatly," she spoke, in that angelic voice of hers. Her beautiful grey eyes were clenched have shut in pain. Irae put a paw on her shoulder, and spoke comfortingly.

"Don't worry, Lunarescense. We have plenty of time. And anyway, the chances of the other wolves knowing which direction to go is very slim. We're probably safe already. Now come on, the sooner we get to Ponyville, the sooner we will be completely out of harm's way," Irae's words were inspiring, and I felt a new energy fill me.

'We could actually do this,' I thought. 'We might actually be able to escape!'

I looked over at Advocacy, who was sitting on his rump, grasping his paws.

"You alright, Advocacy?" I asked, worried for my friend. Advocacy just grinned that lopsided grin of his, and spoke.

"Nah, it's fine. I just haven't ever really run very far at once. But I'm sure I can handle this."

I nodded, acknowledging his response. After stretching my own legs, I looked to everyone in our group.

"Come on, we should get going. I bet Lunarescense's parents are worried sick about her," I said, and stood up. Irae, Lunarescense, and Advocacy all also stood up, and we set off once again.

When we came across a stream that Lunarescense said she had followed in the forest, we altered our path so that we could walk along it. After a long moment of silence, I asked Lunarescense a question that had been in the back of my mind.

"Lunarescense, you never did answer my question. What were you doing in this forest?" Lunarescense looked at me quizzically, before her expression became one of sadness.

"I was looking for a friend of mine who had disappeared," she said, before drawing a breath and asking me a question. "You haven't…seen her, have you?" I understood what she was getting at, and shook my head no. She looked relieved, but not by much.

There was no more talking for a while, and we just walked along the stream, listening to the ambient sounds of the forest. We must have truly been a sight; a wounded pegasus, two fenrir, and a wulfir who was royalty. Of course, we were now deserters, so Advocacy's social status was now meaningless. From what I had seen, though, he didn't seem too bothered by that.

My thoughts were interrupted by a cry of pain from Irae. Lunarescense and I turned around, expecting the worst, to see Irae lying on the ground, clutching one of her front legs. Her was contorted with pain. Advocacy knelt at her side, one paw on her shoulder.

"Irae, are you all right? What happened?" Irae looked up at Advocacy, fighting back tears.

"I think I broke my ankle," she said, pained. Advocacy moved her paw away from the afflicted limb, and upon seeing it, comforted her.

"Hey, it alright. I've broken my an-" he stopped, blinked, and continued. "-huh, I guess I've never broken my ankle. Haste here has probably hurt his ankle lots of times though, right?" Advocacy said, looking at me pleadingly. Even though I, myself, have never broken an ankle myself, I nodded anyway.

"Can you stand?" Lunarescense asked trotting up to Irae's other side, her gray eyes twinkling with compassion.

"Y-yes, I think so. Thank you, Advocacy," she said, and slowly rose to her feet, making sure not to put her weight on the wounded limb.

"Hey, I have an idea. Why don't I carry you?" Advocacy suggested, but Irae and I both shook our heads no.

"Advocacy, that's a bad idea. Not only are you not very physically capable, but it would make you tire out much faster," Irae said, her words dripping with wisdom. Advocacy just shrugged.

"Fine, if you say so. But my offer still stands should you need help," he said, and began walking. Lunarescense and I followed suit, with Irae between us. She stumbled a bit, but soon found a rhythm with which she was comfortable, and we regained speed.

Another hour passed, and we had walked another two miles. Everyone seemed in a very upbeat mood, and Advocacy had a very large grin plastered over his face. If somewolf were to look at him now, he would be unable to tell that Advocacy was royalty. His fur was matted and dirty, and his dark blue hair was no longer combed like it usually was.

"You know, Advocacy, you look very handsome with your hair tousled like that," Irae commented, blushing slightly. Advocacy just grinned more, and wittily responded, "Thanks. You know, I've always wanted to go with the whole 'rugged outdoorswolf' look, but my parents wouldn't go for it. Just another boon to leaving that god-forsaken place," I envied Advocacy's lack of worry.

Suddenly, we heard a loud, shrill squeak. We turned around, and saw a sight we were not expecting. A tiny wolf was tearing after us, panting furiously. His fur was soaked with sweat. It was Deer.

"Guys! You have to run! The pack is coming!" Deer shrieked, still running after us. He caught up with us, and jumped onto Advocacy's back.

"Go! You have to get out of here!" I looked at Deer, confused, still not comprehending what he was saying, or why he was even here.

"Run, you idiots!"

Then, reality dawned on me. It fell over my entire being, enveloping me.

'The pack must have followed us all the way out here,' I thought, and began to panic.

"Advocacy! Irae! Lunarescense! We have to run, the pack is coming!" Their eyes bulged, and as one, we tore off down the stream. Irae cried out, having stepped onto her broken ankle, and Advocacy grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and tossed her on his back. Deer jumped down and ran alongside us.

I chanced a look behind us, and saw many outlines in the trees behind us. I heard howls and snarls.

'So this is what our prey feels like,' I thought, and paled when I saw Lunarescense falling behind. I grabbed her with my teeth, and put her down on my back, just like Advocacy. I noticed that she was very, very lightweight, almost as light as Deer. I wondered if she had hollow bones, like a bird.

'I'll ask her later, granted we survive.'

I noticed Advocacy beginning to really struggle. His jaw was clenched shut, displaying the mass amounts of effort he was putting forward. Irae was sobbing quietly, tears staining her cheeks. Deer was working his little legs off, having to do three bounds for every one that we did.

Up ahead, I saw the stream end. As we got closer I saw that we had reached a bend, where the stream dropped off several metres and bent right sharply. Both sides of the stream were hills, slanting down towards the running water. It formed a natural moat of sorts.

Advocacy reached the edge of the stream first, and in a nimble bound leaped over it. Deer reached it second, and dove into the water, paddling to the other side. I reached it last, but by the time I did, the pack was right behind me. Time slowed down. In one quick motion, I craned my neck back, sunk my teeth into the pegasus' back, and threw my head forward. The pegasus slid off of my teeth, and flew over to the other side of the stream. She stood up, ignoring the pain from her new wound, and looked at me. I bellowed, "GO!" and turned around to face the pack, Lunarescense's blood on my tongue.

I could see them coming closer, closer. They snarled at me, hate clouding their eyes. I unsheathed my claws, the blood from yesterday's battle still evident.

'I killed wolves yesterday, and I am going to do it again.'

The mass of wolves hit me like a wave, pushing me back. I tore at them with my claws, ripping through flesh and bone. Deterring them to my left, I jumped right to avoid the rest. A massive wulfir came up in front of me, a massive, broad blade towering above his head. He swung it down, and I raised one set of claws to block it. The heavy blade hit my paw with full force, bending each claw down before snapping it off, flinging the shard into the air. I raised my second paw to strike when the wulfir suddenly swung up.

I felt the massive blade cleave me in two. It hit me square in the shoulder and tore through muscle and sinew with ease. My front leg was sent spinning into the air, blood arcing from it like a fireworks display. I felt no pain, just an ice-cold numbness as my nerves were shot into oblivion. The last thing I heard before tumbling backwards over the edge of the stream was Lunarescense screaming in horror.

Then, I felt nothing. My vision went completely black, and complete silence filled my ears.

My life did not flash before my eyes. I did not have an out-of-body experience. I just died. And when my body, the only window to the physical world was broken, I became nothing. My consciousness was trapped in complete isolation.

But that was only because I was not really dead. Some tiny part of me held on, still fighting for existence. I began to feel it, and upon realizing what it was, I grabbed it for all I was worth. Pinpricks flooded my body, and then everything hit me. Existence flooded over me, tearing every nerve in my body. The darkness was replaced with an unrelenting white. It was the worst thing I had ever felt, but it was better than the complete isolation that I had felt only moments before.

My vision returned, and I saw the forest bobbing up and down. Colorful blurs were in the foreground, and as my eyes refocused, I made them out to be Irae, Deer, and Passion. They were running. So was I, for some reason, but my legs were not moving.

A flash of gruesome red slaughtered my vision for a brief moment as a branch struck my shoulder.

I screamed. I screamed like I had never before. The manic bellow that I let out shocked everywolf around me, and they turned their heads, only to see me emptying every bit of air from my lungs to fuel my insane orchestra of pain. I screamed and screamed, but my screams slowly died down as the pain subsided. My lungs burned, punishing me for releasing my pain in such a manner. My face was wet with tears, and I moved my front legs to wipe them away, and when only one paw greeted my face, I craned my head to see the fleshy stub that was all that remained of my front leg.

My mind was too crammed full of thoughts rushing about, many of them insane ones caused by near death. Unable to form a coherent thought, I did the first thing that I could to enter a state of calm. I passed out.

(PERSPECTIVE CHANGE TO ADVOCACY)

My legs burning like never before, I ran alongside Beque. To the other side of Beque ran Irae and Passion. Beque, being the huge fucking brute that he is, carried Lunarescense and Haste.

Haste. Fucking hell, the guy took quite a blow. We could only watch as the massive wolfir hit him with his blade, and cut off his arm. Haste had then fallen into the stream, blood gushing out of his shoulder like a spilled bucket. Luckily, Passion and Beque had been there. They had been running along with the rest of the pack, but their priorities were different. They had come to help Haste and us escape, and help they did.

When Haste fell into the stream, Beque charged into the fray and grabbed him, pushing wolves away like he was running through a field of wheat. He ran up the hill, grabbed the wounded Lunarescense, and then we all tore ass away from there. Taking a few turns, we managed to lose the fuckers. I didn't know if Haste was still alive until all of a sudden he started screaming like a maniac, which I took as a good sign. The fucker was alive. Lunarescense was crying her pony eyes out and clutching his side.

In the distance, we began to see the end of the forest. What looked like a path began to form below us, and we followed it. Another ten or so minutes later, we were out of the forest.

This was the first time any of us wolves had ever left the forest. The lack of trees on the landscape was, well, appalling to say the least. We were used to the claustrophobic conditions of the forest, and this wide open space was intimidating. The only thing that prevented us from hesitating was the sight of houses in the far, far distance.

All of our hearts sang with joy. We were almost there! Redoubling our efforts, we ran up and down rolling hills, the little town slowly getting closer. Our paws were sore to no end, and mine began to bleed as fur was torn from them by the unrelenting ground, but I paid the pain no heed. That town was the gate to our new life. We six wolves were the best of friends. And now, after everything we've been through, one could even consider us to be family.

Tears poured freely from my eyes. I howled in happiness, unable to contain my joy, and Beque joined in. Passion and Deer yipped in joy. Irae just kept her jaw clenched shut, trying to fight through the pain in her broken leg.

'Fuck that,' I thought. I didn't care for anything right now, the only thing I felt was a euphoria the likes of which I had never experienced before. I grabbed Irae, and put her down on my back. She blushed hotly from the bodily contact, but said nothing. She wrapped her front legs around my neck, and her back legs around my sides.

"Thanks," she said, and I grinned even more. The town was now only a quarter mile away, and I couldl even see individual ponies milling around.

The ponies were colorful, much more colorful than wolves. I saw earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi. They all looked so happy, and it made me feel only better, knowing that my future was among them.

Before we knew it we were a stone's throw away from the town. Ponies closest to us caught sight of us, screaming and fleeing in terror at seeing a group of wolves running at them full speed. Several stallions grouped up, and stood in front of the town, blocking our path.

But we didn't give two shits about them. They were just a physical obstical between us and our new life. We ran straight towards them. Some of them began to falter, seeing as we weren't deterred by their bravado. Before they could move out of the way, Beque and I barged right through them, Deer and Passion following behind us.

"Fuck you, fuckers!" I yelled as we passed them, still ecstatic. My paws were now hurting like a bitch, no, two bitches, and every time I pressed them against the ground I left a bloodstain, but like I said earlier, the amount of shits I gave was zero.

We ran through the streets of the town, ponies screaming in horror and fleeing upon seeing us. It was a nice place, really. Much nicer than Proudcrag. The homes were built of wood and had roofs made of hay. They were ornate, and well built. I didn't get to admire them more than that, because ahead of us the town hospital came into view.

We ran straight towards it, and right as we were about to run right into it, Beque reared up, and kicked the fucking door down. It was ripped off of its hinges, and clattered to the ground bent and distorted. The inside of the hospital was also cheery, but not as colorful, save for the doctor and nurse ponies. Upon seeing the door get knocked down and several very bloodied and battered wolves run in, the ponies screamed and began to panic. I, still in my ecstatic state, reared up, Irae clinging to my back, and bellowed at the top of my lungs.

"Alright motherfuckers listen up! We here mean no harm to any of you fuckers, and all we need is some help! We have a friend is about to fucking die, and he needs some serious fucking help, RIGHT NOW!" The ponies stopped panicking, and looked at me, dumbfounded.

"Well, GET TO IT MOTHERFUCKERS!" A nurse, reacting quickly, gulped and ran up. "Atta girl," I said, smiling, and led her to Beque. He knelt, and I helped her get Haste off of her.

Her reaction was surprising, but not uncalled for. Upon seeing Haste's lack of arm, she turned a sick color of green and disgorged her stomach contents all over the floor. I rolled my eyes, and patted her on the back.

"That's fabulous dear. Now, if you're done being prissy, I have a friend who is half-fucking-dead and isn't getting any better," I said, and she nodded, wiping her mouth. A doctor and another nurse ran up, avoiding the vomit, and moved Haste onto it. As they scurried away, I put Irae down, and reared up again.

"Now here's some ground rules, motherfuckers. Until my friends and I are all better, you are all under house-fucking-arrest. If anyone tries to leave, I will fucking kill you." Ponies gasped, but I ignored them and continued.

"If my friend dies, I will kill every single one of you. So you had all best pitch in to make sure you all leave as alive and soon as possible." The other ponies nodded and began to slowly shuffle towards where Haste was being taken. "Hurry it the fuck up!" I shouted, and sat down on my rump, pleased.

"That whole charade right there was uncalled for, you know," Passion muttered, scowling at me. You scared them all out of their skin."

"I know, Passion, I'm just really, really happy. Have you fully, completely realized that everything is going to be alright?" She nodded.

"Everything. We're finally fucking safe. Our lives will only get better from now on." Passion nodded again, and sat down next to me. Once the ponies organized a little, they separated into groups. Most of them were working on Haste, trying to stabilize his condition, while the rest alternated between each of us, treating our various injuries.

There wasn't much that the ponies could do about Lunarescense's injuries, because Doctor Rags had already patched her up after she had been captured. Irae's front leg was put in a cast. My paws were all heavily bandaged and treated, because most of the fur had been torn off. I was put on painkillers, because I had pushed my untrained muscles so far beyond their limit that some had actually completely become unraveled. Passion, Deer, and Beque just had mild treatment for their paws, which had cuts and were worn to the point of skin breakage.

Two days passed, and the ponies began, ever so slightly, to warm up to us. Many a rescue had been attempted by brave ponies outside of the hospital, but each time I held my blade to a nurse's neck and they backed off. In fact, it almost became routine. I would be sitting on a hospital bed, half-dozing, when a nurse would walk up and say, "They're mounting another rescue, mister Advocacy," and I would just nod, we would walk over to the window, I would press my blade against her neck lightly, they would back off, and we would have a laugh out of it.

The ponies were actually very nice. After I apologized profusely for my initial outburst, they realized that I had only done it out of worry for my friend. I even eventually caved and offered some non-vital nurses the opportunity to leave, but none did, refusing to go until their patients got better. I have to say, I was grateful. I made friends with the doctors and nurses, many of which thought I was quite dashing. I promised that as soon as we made some money, we would pay the ponies for their efforts handsomely.

When we were asked if we were staying here, my wolf friends and I exchanged glances, and said that yes, we would consider it. This made the ponies excited, because apparently we had quite the personalities. God, I loved this place.

Haste rose from his coma on the third day. I was lying on a hospital bed talking to a nurse who was re-bandaging my paws, when one of the head doctors, Doctor Coneighger, rushed into the room. His calm and collectiveness faltered slightly as he spoke.

"Mister Advocacy! Please come with me right away. Your friend is awake."

I surprised the nurse bandaging me by hopping off of the bed and onto my unbandaged paws. I winced slightly at the pain, but paid no further attention as I followed Doctor Coneighger through the hospital. A few turns later, I arrived at a room that was labeled simply, "Surgery 2".

Inside, I saw most of my friends already there. Passion and Lunarescense were standing next to Haste's hospital bed, holding his one paw in theirs. Beque was standing behind Passion. Deer sat on his shoulders. Irae was sitting in a chair next to the doorway, and stood up when I entered the room. She sidled up next to me, and rubbed my nuzzle with hers. I walked up to the foot of Haste's bed, and looked at my friend.

Haste had a bewildered expression on his face. I would assume that he was not at all expecting to still be alive; the look that had been on Haste's face before he took on the pack had been one of grim resignation, like he was accepting that he was going to die.

'It's a good thing Haste was wrong,' I thought, and spoke.

"Hey, Haste. How are you, man?" Haste looked at me with a far-off look in his eyes, then blinked and responded.

"Hello, Advocacy. I am, well, better than I took myself to be the last time I was conscious," Haste said, and then turned to the doctor and nurse ponies waiting in the hallway. "Thank you all for helping me, without your help I would not be alive right now. I am very grateful for the kindness that you have shown me and my friends, even with our less-than-friendly entrance."

Two mares came forward; their names I had learned earlier were Nurse Redheart and Nurse Sweetheart.

"It's fine, it has actually been nice to get to know you wolves. As it turns out, you are all not as savage as we had previously thought. In fact, some of you," Nurse Sweetheart gestured to me with her hoof, "have turned out to be quite the gentlecolts." Irae scowled a bit at Nurse Sweetheart's bold comment, but calmed when I rubbed her back with his paw.

"Thank you all for taking two days of your lives to help us complete strangers. Now please, go home and rest. I'm sure your families and friends are worried sick about you."

The small bunch of ponies burst into cheers, glad that their patients were completely healed, and that the whole ordeal was over. They began to pack up supplies and things, all the while recalling their memories of the past two days. They all went to the lobby, and opened the front doors for the first time in two days. I turned to Haste, who, with Passion's help, had gotten out of his bed and now stood awkwardly on his remaining three legs.

(PERSPECTIVE SWITCH TO HASTE)

I stood, balancing most of my weight on my back two legs because of the imbalance in my front. Passion's paw was on my shoulder, pushing it up to help me balance.

"Thank you," I said quietly, and she smiled sweetly at me. Passion was really the best friend a wolf could have; she was always so caring and, well, passionate. She would often help others selflessly. I wondered what prompted her to leave the pack with us. Did she just now stand the killing of innocent creatures, or did she do it out of loyalty to her friends?

'I suppose I should ask her later,' I thought, and began to walk towards the doorway. Passion moved with me, still supporting me. Lunarescense walked up to my other side, and I turned my head to look at her.

"What now, Haste? What are you going to do now that you are here?" Lunarescense asked me, worried. I just smiled at her, and answered.

"We are going to go find your parents, I'm sure that they are worried about you," I said, but Lunarescense just shook her head no.

"You don't need to come along, I can handle myself completely fine. I may be crippled, but there is always a chariot that I can take. And anyway, you're worse off than I am. Please, stay here and get better, for me." She said pleadingly, and I could feel myself soften.

'God, she is just so damn adorable. I really hope she knows what she's doing,' I thought.

"Ok, Lunarescense, but at least let me accompany you to wherever these chariots are," I told her, and she agreed. However, our conversation was cut short by three infuriated mares running into the room, one pegasus, one unicorn, and one earth pony. The pegasus had a cyan coat, and a vibrant rainbow mane and tail. The unicorn looked a lot like Irae, with a purple coat and a short purple mane. The earth pony was very muscular, and had a blonde mane tied up in a mane, on top of which rested a cowboy hat. The cyan pegasus barged right into Advocacy, and wrestled him to the ground. The purple unicorn concentrated on Beque, and enveloped him in a purple aura which lifted him into the air. Beque swung his legs helplessly, looking like a fish caught on dry land. Finally, the blonde-haired earth pony ran up to me and Passion, and in one smooth motion twirled around, bucking us both backwards into the wall with her hind legs.

I heard bones crack. The whole building shook from the impact, betraying the incredible force of the strike. Passion cried out in pain, her voice high and very feminine. Her arm, which had been supporting my shoulder, had been pushed against her side too much. It did not take an expert to tell it was dislocated.

Passion and I slumped against the wall, our bodies wracked in pain. Irae and Deer gasped. The blonde mare walked straight up to us and reared up intimidatingly. Passion cowered, curling up next to me.

I, however, was really fucking pissed. This, this _bitch_, had dared to hurt Passion, the one wolf that I knew that would not even consider hurting anywolf! I sprang to my legs, pushed up with my two back ones, and threw myself at the blonde mare. She tumbled backwards, and her cowboy hat fell off of her head. I unsheathed my one good paw's claws. I was lying on top of the mare, pressing down on her chest with my knees, my paw raised high in the air. Bloodstained claws extended from my individual fingers, reflecting the fluorescent light above me. My shoulder stump was pointed towards the blonde mare, and I saw her eyes widen at seeing the bloodstained bandages wrapped around the severed limb. I was about to bring my claw down to end this miserable bitch's life, when I felt a weight pull against it, and I turned my head to see Lunarescense holding onto my front leg. She looked into my eyes pleadingly, and I felt my body soften once more. I was about to get off of the blonde earth pony when she bucked upwards with her hips, sending me over her head and onto the ground, onto the ground next to the unicorn. Before I could get up, the thrice-damned mare jumped on me again, pinning me to the ground.

Irae, upon seeing the pegasus tackle Advocacy, lost her usual calm and unsheathed her foot-long claws. The rainbow-maned mare turned to see the scowling wolf lunge at her. Her eyes widened, and just as she was about to tear the pegasus to pieces Passion fought through the pain in her arm to bound forward, knocking Irae away. Irae was just about to get up again when a very loud voice bellowed at us.

"ENOUGH! THAT IS ENOUGH! STOP FIGHTING RIGHT NOW BEFORE YOU KILL EACH OTHER!" We all turned towards the voice, stunned.

Two ponies stood in the doorway. They both had wings, so I was about to conclude that they were pegasi, when I noticed that they also had horns, like unicorns. One was coloured white, with a flowing mane of pastel rainbow colours. The other was much smaller than the white one, and had a dark blue coat and mane.

The three ponies who were assaulting us hurriedly got off of us, and kneeled before the two unicorn-pegasi, pressing their faces against their hooves. I noticed that Lunarescense did the same.

'She must be royalty,' I thought, but stayed laying down on the ground as I was.

"Rise, my little ponies," the bigger unicorn-pegasi said, and the ponies got to their hooves. "Now, what is the meaning of this?" She pointed to us wolves, who were still splayed out across the ground from our fight. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" the unicorn-pegasi demanded, stomping her hoof. Advocacy sat up, brushed himself off, and answered loudly and clearly.

"We are wolves, miss-" the purple unicorn that had used magic on Beque just moments before interrupted Advocacy, furious.

"You pitiful wolves will not refer to her highness Celestia as 'miss'! It is downright disrespectful to call a princess a title that would be given to a common-" Advocacy, without blinking or losing his cool, just interrupted her and continued.

"We are wolves, your highness. We have come from the forest that lies North of here, to bring this wounded pegasus here," Advocacy gestured to Lunarescense, "back to her family." With that, Advocacy bowed, and stepped back. I was amazed as to how he could keep his cool like that, but hey, that's Advocacy for you. The pegasi-unicorn still did not seem very pleased with the answer.

"What do you mean? How could six wolves possibly be needed to accompany one Pegasus? And why is she so wounded? Explain yourselves!" This time, I rolled over and stood up to answer, inciting a gasp from the smaller unicorn-pegasi.

"We all accompanied this pegasus because we are all fugitives," the smalled unicorn-pegasi shifted, lost in thought, "and we like I said earlier, we have come here to bring this pegasus to her family. I am sorry to say that it was my fault that she is wounded so terribly, because I was the one who caught her when my pack was hunting."

The bigger unicorn-pegasi just continued asking questions, and the three mares that had accosted us just sat on their rumps, listening.

"You say you are fugitives. Please elaborate." I sighed, and answered her question.

"You see, a few days ago, when my pack went hunting, I caught this pegasus. But when I became regretful for my actions, I decided to help her escape from the clutches of my pack, and bring her to her parents. My friends here helped me, and we barely managed to escape with our lives. Please, do not be angry at us. We will leave this town as soon as possible."

I bowed down before the white unicorn-pegasus, and walked over to Passion, who was lying on the ground, clutching her wounded limb. I grasped her back and leg, and she gasped right before I violently pulled back, wrenching her leg back into place. Passion screamed, and I felt that scream chill me to my very core. I wrapped my front leg around her shoulders, and pressed her against my chest as she screamed into my fur, barely coping with the pain. It was terrible, but unfortunately the only way to fix he leg.

My keen wolf senses picked up the smaller unicorn-pegasus whisper something to her larger companion, but I couldn't tell what because of Passion's screaming. The larger unicorn-pegasus faced us, and when Passion had quieted down, spoke once more.

"My sister and I wish to speak with you all more formally as soon as possible. These three ponies here," the unicorn-pegasus gestured to the three mares that had attacked us, "are going to accompany you to my royal palace in Canterlot. There, we will speak about your intentions here." With that, she turned around and left the room. The smaller unicorn-pegasi, who I assumed was her sister, looked over us wolves once more before leaving as well.

The pegasus, unicorn, and earth pony all stood, dumbfounded. The blond mare snatched her hat off of the ground, and put it onto her head. Beque got to his feet, and scowled menacingly at the three mares, who cowered under his behemoth-like form. Advocacy and Irae advanced slowly towards them, growling.

Lunarescense stepped between us, narrowly preventing another fight. "How about we leave before somepony gets hurt, alright? The princesses are probably waiting outside, anyway." I grunted, and wrapped my one good front leg around Passion, who stood up. The mares left first, each glaring at us wolves whenever the glanced at us. We followed them, and after walking down a few hallways, arrived at the hospital lobby. There were now only a few ponies about, mostly nurses still packing their things.

We walked out of the hospital, and into the Ponyville town square. There was a crowd of ponies waiting outside, having heard that the wolves had finally released their pony hostages. During the last two days we had forgotten how isolated we were from the rest of Ponyville, and that we had no idea what the ponies outside thought had been happening. A collective gasp rose up from the crowd when they saw us wolves leaving the hospital. Some tried to rush at us as a mob, but a bellowing voice stopped them in their tracks.

"STOP! THESE WOLVES ARE COMING WITH ME, TO CANTERLOT." I looked towards the source of the voice to see the larger unicorn-pegasus towering over the crowd, her rainbow-coloured mane flowing in the wind. The mob hurriedly backed off, pressing their snouts against their hooves.

"This way, wolves," the larger unicorn-pegasus said, waving us towards her. We walked towards her, past the three hesitant mares that had attacked us just moments before.

"You three as well, come with me," the unicorn-pegasus added, and the three confused ponies followed us, but at a distance.

We walked for a distance, past houses and streets. Ponies stopped to watch us, mouths agape. I walked with my good leg around Passion's shoulder for support. Advocacy and Irae walked side by side, and Deer, being the little scamp that he was, rode atop Beque's shoulders.

Before long, we arrived at a Cliffside on the very outskirts of ponyville. Two large, ornate chariots rested on the ledge, with four winged stallions tied to each. We walked up to the chariots, and the two unicorn-pegasi entered one of them. The wolves and I exchanged glances with each other, then the ponies. They were as confused as I was. Taking the initiative, Advocacy stalked up to the other, empty, chariot, and opened the door.

"Ladies first," he snickered, beckoning to the three mares that had accosted us at the hospital. Scowling at us, they entered the chariot, and Advocacy climbed inside after them. Lunarescense, Passion, Irae, Deer, Beque and I all followed suit.

There were two rows of seats, with room for five on each side. Lunarescense, Passion, Irae, Advocacy and I all sat opposite the mares. The mares all sat together, with Beque taking up the last two spaces, being the giant wolf that he is. Deer sat on his usual perch, on Beque's shoulders. After we all sat down, the stallions tied to the chariot took off, flapping their wings gracefully through the air. I thought it odd as to how four pegasi could carry a chariot full of ponies and wolves, but decided not to let it bother me too much.

Despite the cramped space, no one said anything, no one said anything for most of the trip. It was only until about an hour or so passed when tensions began to rise. Passion had been wimpering into my shoulder the whole time, still feeling lots of pain from her previously dislocated leg. The rainbow-maned cyan pegasus had grown increasingly annoyed, and when she couldn't take it anymore, just about shouted at Passion.

"Sweet Celestia, quit crying like a baby and take it, you wimp!" Passion froze up from the outburst, and I, once again enraged at these fucking mares, lashed out, striking the cyan pegasus in the snout. She gasped, and was about to jump at me when Beque calmly reached over with his front leg and pressed the three mares back against their seats, keeping them in place.

"Let me go, you big lug!" the rainbow-maned mare shouted, squirming under the large limb. Deer snarled at her, his little eyes full of hate. The hat-wearing orange mare pushed against his leg as hard as she could, but even she was not as strong as Beque. Beque just kept a calm poker face, and kept his arm over the three mares.

"I swear, the moment you let me go, I'll buck you so hard between the legs your voice will raise an octave!" the rainbow one kept shouting, but Beque, being the gentle giant that he is, just blinked at the threat.

This continued for another half hour, until we felt the chariot touch down. Beque moved his arm away, but the blond-haired mare and the cyan Pegasus had already tired themselves out struggling, and lay in their seats, defeated. The short-haired purple unicorn just sat in her seat, having just sat calmly the entire ride.

We left the chariot. Beque had to carry the two exhausted mares on his back, a fact that they were none too pleased about. Passion had stopped wimpering, and was once again helping support me. The purple unicorn left the chariot last, and thanked the four stallions who had pulled it.

Before us stood the two unicorn-pegasi, with two guard flanking each of them. The guards looked at us with distaste and suspicion, but I paid them no heed. Once our group had gathered outside the chariots, the larger unicorn-pegasus spoke in her royal tone.

"Wolves and ponies! I will now teleport you into my royal palace, so as not to frighten the citizens of Canterlot by your presence." She looked at us six wolves as she said this. Then, she closed her eyes and concentrated. There was a flash of light, and a wave of pure magic rolled over me. When the spots in my eyes faded, I saw that we were now in a large throne room.

We wolves had never experienced magic before, so we began to panic a little. The rainbow-maned mare snickered.

"What, you've never seen a little teleportation before?" I glared at her, and calmed down. The two unicorn-pegasi strode over to the center of the room, where a large golden throne ruled over the rest of the furniture in the room. The larger unicorn-pegasi sat down, and spoke.

"Now, we can have a more formal conversation. I will begin by introducing myself," we all faced her, paying attention.

"My name is princess Celestia. I, along with my sister Luna, rule over this world. The forest where you wolves live also falls under our rule."

"I control the day, and my sister controls the night. We also rule, or used to rule, over three different species. The three most prominent species in this world, which we call Equestria, are ponies, griffins, and wolves. Originally, these three were equally distributed, but after some past conflicts, ponies became the dominant species, and the other two were banished into the very corners of Equestria." We all listened intently, because this was all very important and new information.

"So, that begs the question. What are YOU doing here?"

* * *

**So, I'm going camping for the next three days, so I don't know if I will be able to finish writing the next chapter in the time I usually allot for writing. This story was finished a bit earlier than expected, so that is always a good thing.**

**Thank you all for reading this!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I have returned!**

**I hope that I have not kept you all waiting, and I am sorry to say that this chapter is not as long as my previous two, but there is a lot of story progression here to make up for it.**

**I have figured out exactly how I want my story to go, and I guarantee that there will be some pretty radical shit in the chapters that follow.**

**After a few chapters, the genre will change to adventure/romance. Hint hint.**

**Also, I changed the summary to better fit the story as it is going right now.**

* * *

"Woah, woah, woah." I interrupted the princess, which earned me a glare from the purple unicorn mare. "Please slow down, this is very hard to take in. You say that we fall under your rule? How so?" Princess Celestia was about to answer, when the door leading to the chamber we were in opened, allowing three more colourful mares in. One was completely pink, with a poofy pink mane that reminded me of cotton candy. She bounded playfully, her great reserves of energy clearly evident. Just from one glance, I decided that she was a lot like Deer. The second mare, a pegasus, was yellow and had a flowing pink mane obscuring part of her face. When she saw us, her eyes widened, and she turned her head so that we couldn't see her eyes behind her mane. The third mare was a unicorn. Her coat was marshmallow white, and she had a very well-combed purple mane. She held her head high in a dignified manner.

The three mares approached us, and stopped next to the first three that had accosted us at the hospital earlier. They bowed briefly in front of their princesses, then stood straight with the rest of their friends. The three ponies stared at us six wolves, having not seen us before. Fortunately, their only encounter with us had not been a conflicting one, so I could see them forming their own, unbiased opinions of us. We all turned our attention back to Princess Celestia, who cleared her throat and continued speaking.

"I am happy to see that you three have made it here. Now, I can address this very pressing matter."

"It is not well-known, but still fairly common knowledge that the three most dominant species in Equestria are ponies, griffins, and wolves. A long time ago, we used to work together to improve our societies and civilizations. We would have never gotten to the point we are at now if we had not been allies. You may have also noticed many cultural similarities," Princess Celestia gestured to us six wolves.

"However, some thousand-and-a-half years ago, there were some very brutal conflicts. Some call them 'wars.' The pony species prevailed, and the wolves and griffins had to move their civilizations far away. We have not made much progress in befriending them, but some griffins have found themselves living amongst ponies. It is rare, and the griffins are rarely accepted socially." Unbeknownst to us, the rainbow-maned mare was thinking of an old friend of hers, and had tuned out temporarily.

"The wolves, however, have almost completely disappeared. There were some rumours and stories that they lived in the vast Everfree forest, which you have confirmed by escaping from your village there. The fact that the village is so close to one of our own villages is also very troubling. There is also the possibility that you have unwittingly led the other wolves to Ponyville, endangering the lives of everypony there." The three mares that had accosted us earlier glared at us even harder than before.

"However, I have a greater worry. I will explain it later. Right now, I need you to explain EXACTLY how you wound up here. Every single detail, and every single emotion you felt." All twelve of us looked questioningly at her, but we wolves just nodded to each other and took up the task. I spoke first.

"It all began four days ago. I was in my home, bored, when our village alpha male shows up and greets me. He tells me that my father had been chosen to lead the hunt, and that I was to accompany him. This of course excited me to no end, because it was the perfect opportunity to make him proud of me." Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the cyan pegasus falter. Her smug expression broke, and I realized that she was reliving some past memory. 'Oh well, that's her problem.'

"A little while later, I was at the outskirts of town, preparing for the hunt. The alpha male, Tarnished Claw was his name, was speaking, and my father was next to him. He noticed me in the crowd, and beamed at me. I felt so good, knowing that he was proud of me, and I was not going to disappoint him." Some of my attention had unfortunately been pinned on the rainbow-maned mare, and I noticed a small stain trailing out from her eyes. She was silently crying. No matter how much hate I harbored for that mare, I couldn't help but feel my heartstrings tear. I stopped talking, and faced her.

"Hey… are you alright?" The cyan pegasus blinked, having noticed that I had addressed her. She faced me, scowled, and barked, "What do you care? You're just a stupid wolf!" Her sadness had apparently been quickly replaced with hatred towards me.

"You are crying." I said bluntly, not changing my facial expression at all. Really, I had not expected any other reaction from the pegasus. She recoiled slightly, then spat on the ground and began to storm off towards the exit. Everywolf in the room winced when Princess Celestia bellowed again, and the cyan pegasus froze in place.

"STOP THIS INSTANT, RAINBOW DASH." Rainbow Dash turned around, and we could see tears streaming freely down her cheeks. "YOU ARE NOT TO LEAVE THIS CHAMBER UNTIL WE ARE FINISHED. NOW COME BACK HERE." Rainbow Dash did as she was told, head hung low. When she got back to her friends, she fought through her tears, and yelled at me.

"Damn you! Damn you for noticing!" Everywolf recoiled from her. The purple unicorn was clearly upset, and timidly spoke.

"Rainbow Dash… why are you crying? In the year and a half that I've known you, you've never cried. Please, tell us what the problem is," Rainbow Dash rubbed at her eyes with her hooves. There was a pause, and then the silence was broken by Rainbow Dash speaking up, her eyes still hidden by her hooves.

"No… I don't want to. I won't!" With that, she sat down on her rump, the tears still fresh on her face. I looked apologetically at her, and she scowled at me with all the hate she could muster. I realized that I probably made her look like a fool in front of her friends. 'Damn, I will probably have to do something about that.'

"You do not have to say anything if you do not want, Rainbow Dash. Now, if we may allow this wolf here to continue…" I took the hint, and continued speaking after one last glance at Rainbow Dash.

"So, those in the pack that were to hunt were gathered at the outskirts of town, and we ran into the-'Everfree forest', did you call it? So after a bit of running around, I noticed Lunarescense flying high in the air, but she could not leave the forest because of the thick canopy. I knew that she was trapped, so I decided to catch her. I, being the most agile wolf of our hunting party, was able to climb up the tree branches to her height first and chased after her. When I got close enough to Lunarescense, she dove down, towards the ground. I jumped after her, and as we were falling, I…" I hesitated, having to recount the memory of how I had gravely wounded my now-friend. The white coated unicorn with the combed purple mane spoke up.

"You what, dear?" I gathered up my strength, and continued.

"I used my claws to cut into her side, so that she would be too wounded to fly away. I then grabbed onto her, and moved her so that she was under me when we hit the ground." I felt my chest tighten, and my voice cracked. "Oh god, I had felt no remorse when I did that! The only thing that I had cared for was my father's and Tarnished Claw's respect! I'm evil, and soulless. If anything, Rainbow Dash is right!" I slumped over, felt my eyes begin to water. I brought my head up, and saw Rainbow Dash looking at me. She had a confused expression on her face. I knew that she was experiencing conflicting feelings, and did not know what to think of me. Then, she scowled again, and redoubled how much hate she shot at me. 'It's the least I deserve.'

"I woke up in the hospital the next day. We had both survived, but Lunarescense had both of her wings broken. It was then that I first felt regret. I saw her lying on the hospital bed, but her eyes were filled with nothing but grim acceptance. She had accepted her fate, and had realized that she was nothing but livestock to us wolves." I saw Passion, Irae, and Beque all sitting with their heads down in shame. Deer and Advocacy only sat, listening.

"I went back to my home, and was musing over my new regrets when I was intercepted by my friends here. I am a very antisocial wolf, and these five are the only wolves that had ever bothered to actually get to know me, and for that I am eternally grateful."

"They asked me to go to the lake with them, and I gladly accepted so that I could take my thoughts off of Lunarescense. We had fun, and we spent several hours at the lake. Before we knew it, it had become very late afternoon, and we had to get back to our village. When we arrived, we saw Tarnished Claw and the rest of the pack at the town centre. Because Lunarescense had been caught alive, it was customary for a wolf to be chosen to make her last night in Equestria pleasurable." The ponies and two princesses gasped, and the marshmallow-white unicorn damn near fainted. I ignored them, and continued.

"The only ponies who volunteered were cruel, They wanted to abuse Lunarescense, and to use her for their own pleasure. Tarnished Claw and I both saw this, and I realized that I had to volunteer myself to protect her from them. I did, and Tarnished Claw chose me. I took her home, but not before she told me that I was evil, soulless, and heartless. Just like Rainbow Dash did, actually." I looked at her, and she just scowled at me.

"On the way there, we were approached by a group of the cruel wolves who had wanted to use Lunarescense. Disappointed that they had been denied their fun, they had wanted to take her from me by force. They threatened me, but I protected her. One of the wolves tried to attack me." I paused, gathering my mental strength.

"What did you do?" Asked the purple unicorn, the one that had attacked us at the hospital along with Rainbow Dash and the blond mare. I looked at her, almost apologetically, and answered.

"I killed him. I stabbed him right in the head with my claws. More wolves attacked me, and I killed them as well. When I say that I deserve what Rainbow Dash says about me, I do not say that out of self-pity. I say that because it is the truth. I have ended so many lives that even if I could live forever, I would never be able to atone for what I had done." Five of the ponies gaped, and Rainbow Dash just stared at me, a blank expression on her face.

"After I killed the wolves, I just continued like nothing had happened. I am willing to bet that their bodies are still lying on the ground back in Proudcrag, rotting away. Lunarescense and I arrived at my home soon after, and I took a shower to get all the blood out of my fur."

"When I finished, I left my bathroom and saw Lunarescense writing something on parchment. I asked her what it was, and she said that it was a letter to her family. I just about died right there. This Pegasus had a family, and I had been willing to tear her away from them without a second thought. I then had to make one of the hardest decisions of my life. I told Lunarescense that I would get her back to her family, even if it killed me." The white unicorn with the combed mane then spoke up, her voice shaking.

"B-but you said that you had finally gotten your father's respect, and that you had made him proud of you. Were you really that willing to forsake that?" I nodded.

"I believe that the life of another is worth more than the respect of my father. I may have disappointed and shamed him, but I also let Lunarescense live another day. Surely that's worth it?" My wolf friends, the ponies, and the two princesses all nodded in agreement.

"The next day, we snuck out of the village. But before we could fully escape, we were caught by Irae here." I gestured to Irae, who blushed slightly.

"Irae told me that she also did not believe in the wolves' treatment of other living creatures, and that she was going with me. We were about to leave, when Advocacy also caught us, because he was trying to find Irae. The day before, Irae had confessed her feelings for Advocacy, and he had treated her to dinner. Advocacy's parents were none all too happy, because they did not want him spending time with a common wlf, so he decided to run away with us as well." The purple-maned unicorn spoke up again, her upperclase tone making her questions sound somewhat more elaborate than they really were.

"Why do you say 'common wolf'? This 'Advocacy' is not a common wolf?" I shook my head no.

"No, miss. Advocacy is…was a member of a royal family." At this, the unicorn gasped, and held a hoof to her lips. Her next question was addressed to Advocacy himself.

"Why in Equestria would you abandon such social prestige? Why, to be born of royal blood is an honor, I would give my two left legs to be a princess! And look at yourself! You are torn up, your mane is undone, and just look at your paws! Do you have no respect for royal status at all?" Advocacy just smirked, and almost gleefully shook his head no.

"No, miss. I couldn't give a damn about anyone of royal descent. If anything, I consider it a curse. Before, my parents would not let me date a common wolf, or even run around with other wolves. It is their fault that I am so out of shape, and that almost resulted in us dying when we were fleeing from the pack." The unicorn seemed confused, but did not delve further. I continued recounting our adventure.

"And so, the four of us set off through the forest. Lunarescense knew that Ponyville was the closest town, so we headed there. Really early on, Irae stumbled and broke her ankle, so that slowed us down, as well as Advocacy's lack of physical ability and Lunarescense's injuries. When we were almost out of the Everfree forest, we heard another one of our friends, Deer," I gestured to the little wolf, "shouting at us to run. He told us that the pack was coming, to catch and kill us. We did try to run faster, but when we came across a stream, disaster struck."

"Irae, Advocacy, and Deer all managed to get to the other side without much difficulty. I, however, was behind them and had very little time before the pack caught up with me. Using my last few seconds, I threw Lunarescense over to the other side, and turned to fight off the rest of the wolves to let my friends escape."

"I had accepted that I was going to die. That mass of wolves was going to send me to my damnation, and I was letting it come at me. I managed to fend them off for a little, but a strong wulfir got the best of me and managed to cut my arm off. I fell into the creek, and expected to die right there, had it not been for Bec. Bec just charged through the rest of the wolves, grabbed me, and caught up with the rest of my friends. Passion had also been running with the pack, and joined us as well."

"We left the forest, and ran for a bit more. We had seen Ponyville in the distance, and when we arrived there, we just charged right through it, and right to the hospital. Beque kicked the door in, and Advocacy forced the doctor and nurse ponies there to help me. It was very drastic, I know, but he was just acting that way to save me. Two days passed, and I had survived. Advocacy let the ponies leave, and we were about to leave as well when these three show up." I gestured to Rainbow Dash, the unicorn, and the blond mare.

Princess Celestia nodded her head slowly and hesitantly. I began to fear that she believed that we were troublemakers, and what she said next did nothing to dash my worries.

"It is as I feared." We all turned to her, and took a deep breath before speaking.

"You probably do not know of this, but these six ponies here are the keepers of the elements of harmony. The elements of harmony are a weapon of sorts that are used when disharmony and discord are afoot. In a way, they are used to keep the imperfect forces of chaos at bay. There is one by the name of 'Discord' who, should he be allowed to run amok, would destroy all harmony that we work so hard to maintain."

"However, there are two others like him. Their names are Weakness and Warfare. Fortunately for us, they are not released unto the world yet."

"Your appearance in Ponyville made me worry at first because I thought that you may be the first sign of Weakness's emergence. After hearing your story, I now know that my fears were true. You six," Celestia gestured to us wolves, "are the keepers of the elements of strength."

Irae, Advocacy, Passion, Deer, Beque, and I were all confused, and we did not know what to make of what the princess had said. The six ponies, however, were very alarmed. The purple unicorn that had accosted us at the hospital spoke up, expressing her concern.

"What are you saying, princess? Are there more elements?" Princess Celestia nodded.

"Yes, my faithful student. There are two more sets, the elements of strength, and the elements of peace. Each was created for the sole purpose of defeating the dragonequus that would eventually be released upon Equestria. There is a set that belongs to ponies, one that belongs to wolves, and one that belongs to griffons. It seems that these six wolves are the keepers of the elements of strength." The blond earth pony suddenly spoke up, after having said nothing this whole time.

"Elements of strength? How does that make any sense? Anypony can be strong, why do there need to be elements for strength?" Celestia just smiled sagely, and answered.

"Applejack, you may see strength as simply physical ability, but it is really so much more than that. Strength is the ability of a pony, or wolf in this case, to go to great extents, even when it means that they get nothing in return." Applejack still seemed confused, but said nothing else.

"I will now declare each one of you to be the keeper of their own element," Princess Celestia said, and turned to face us six wolves. "I have already read your minds, and have found everything else that Haste did not describe."

"Beque, when your friend Haste was in danger, you did not think twice before running to his side. Many ponies would have hesitated, and more would have done nothing. But you selflessly risked your own life to help Haste. You are the element of Bravery."

"Deer, you pushed yourself farther than most living creatures ever do in their entire lives. When faced with the near impossible task of outrunning the rest of the pack, you simply put yourself in the right mindset, and warned your friends. You are the element of Determination."

"Passion, you saw your friend Haste suffer a wound so dire, that even when doctors and nurses believed that he was done for, you still believed that he would survive. You stayed at his side longer than anypony else. It takes strength to believe in something that there was next to no chance of happening. You are the element of Hope."

"Advocacy, you were willing to throw your entire life away to assist your friends and to stay at Irae's side. You had prestige, power, and influence. You lived a life better than any other wolf. And when your parents, the most powerful figures in your life, demanded that you do not spend time with your friends, you disregarded everything that they said and left them behind. It takes strength to ignore the will of somepony greater than you. You are the element of Disobedience."

"Irae, you may not be brave, hopeful, or determined like your friends. However, when you broke you leg, you did not let your injury hold you or your friends back. You used every ounce of strength that you had to push on and not slow your friends down. It takes strength to be able to bare pain like that, especially when you knew that it would be continuous and unrelenting. You are the element of Suffering."

"And finally, Haste." Princess Celestia faced me.

"You have to bear the most difficult element and burden. The only thing that you spent your whole life trying to achieve was your peers' respect, and you had to throw that all away to help one hapless Pegasus live out the rest of her life. And when the pack finally caught up with you, you didn't think twice before using up your own life to let your friends escape. You survived, but just barely, and lost your leg as a result. Your element is very similar to some of the other elements of strength, but unfortunately is much more difficult to bear. Yours is similar to Suffering because every time you lose some part of you to help others, you have to suffer for the rest of your life. Yours is also similar to Bravery, because while bravery is putting yourself in danger to help others, yours also requires you to suffer the consequences."

Twilight Sparkle, the purple unicorn who had been one of the three to attack the wolves at the hospital, was confused. Why was her mentor praising this three-legged wolf so much? Sure, he helped a pegasus escape, but Twilight could have done the same thing without breaking a sweat.

"You are the element of Sacrifice."

And just like that, Twilight understood. She felt her respect for the wolf rising far beyond how much she respected most ponies.

'It wasn't what he did that's so important; it's what he willingly gave up to do it. This Haste wolf sacrificed his own leg, and almost his life to help his friends. I don't think that I could ever bring myself to do what he did.' However, her thoughts were interrupted by Princess Celestia speaking again.

"However, the fact that you have this element is also very troubling because of one fact. Keepers of the Elements are always at risk of having an 'elemental overdose' should they be forced to experience it too greatly. I fear that Haste has been corrupted by his element, and will now stop at nothing to sacrifice, if it means helping those around him in the slightest way. I do not know how to stop this, but should this corruption continue,"

"He will sacrifice his own life."

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**Holy damn, a cliffhanger! **

**I'm not all that good with cliffhangers, but I imagined this like the end of an episode to a television show, and it made me want to "watch" more, so I hope it has the desired effect on y'all as well.**

**A big thanks to those who have put this story on their story alerts, I ****can**** see it when you do that, and it really inspires me to write more, even more so than getting a review.**

**Thank you all for reading this, if you enjoyed it or found a part interesting please leave a review!**


	4. Chapter 4

I know that some of you have been waiting for a long time for this to continue, and I have come to reassure you that this story is not dead! Just difficult to write, is all.

Thank you bronydudeshadow for reviewing with such fervor, I'm sorry that I left you waiting.

For those of you who don't know, the reason that this story updates so slowly is that I am actually writing two stories at the same time, the other being "Eyes and Chessboards". Of the two, I honestly like this one more, I believe that it has better plot progression. (Heh, plot.)

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"Wha…what?" Twilight Sparkle stuttered. Why didn't she know of this? Why didn't princess Celestia tell them of this 'elemental overdose'?

Twilight glanced at Haste. Haste had a determined, unworried expression plastered over his muzzle. Worry was pent up inside Twilight, and she could see her friends and the other five wolves were feeling the same way. Rainbow Dash and Haste were the only ones who seemed unaffected, almost like they didn't care whatsoever. Rainbow Dash still had tears drying on her cheeks, leaving dark stains trailing down to her chin.

'Why was Rainbow crying when Haste told his story? And why did she get so mad at Haste for 'noticing'?' This evening had, instead of answering questions that she had had about the wolves, created new questions about her and her friends. Her thoughts were put on hold when she heard Celestia speak again.

"Because these six have appeared in Ponyville and have learned of their roles, their foe Weakness cannot be far behind." Celestia turned to Haste and his friends. "You must prepare for him, and increase your own personal strengths as much as you can. Twilight and her friends had to face their foe Discord a while back, and barely managed to defeat him. I hope that you will fare better." Twilight and her friends nodded at the mention of their battle with Discord.

"This is also a great opportunity for the elements of Harmony to learn more about harmony. In fact, I have a plan that will allow the elements of Harmony to learn about strength, and the elements of Strength to learn about harmony." The twelve ponies and wolves perked up, eager to learn about Celestia's plan, with the exception of Rainbow Dash.

"Each one of you will be assigned a partner from the other group of elements, and will house them as you would family. You must learn to coexist, and to accept their flaws and differences. Then and only then can you begin to understand their element."

All twelve of us ponies and wolves were taken aback. The ponies exchanged glances, and we wolves did the same.

"We have to… house them?" Twilight asked, confused. "As in, they live with us?" Princess Celestia nodded sagely.

The chamber suddenly exploded in conversation, as everypony and wolf voiced their own opinion, most of them against the princess's idea. Twilight loudly silenced everypony, and clearly voiced her own concern once we had quieted down.

"Please don't take this the wrong way, Celestia, but I don't think that that is the best of ideas. They are, after all, wolves. They eat meat, and the only place to get meat here would be to hunt in the Everfree forest. Also, how would they live with Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, or Rainbow Dash? Pinkie lives with the Cakes, and they don't have any space to house another. Fluttershy's home is full of animals, and I don't think that they would like living with a meat-eating predator. And as for Rainbow Dash, she lives in a cloud! Only pegasi can get up there, not to mention stand without falling through."

"I know of these problems, and have already thought of solutions to them. As for Pinkie Pie, she will be given a new home all to herself and whoever lives with her," Pinkie began to complain, but Celestia silenced her. "I'm sorry Pinkie, but it is too important that you improve your strengths. You must accept these changes, and see that they are for the best." Pinkie frowned, and stopped complaining.

"Whichever wolf stays with Fluttershy must learn to be kind to the animals that reside there, and must avoid… preying on them. I am certain that they will eventually come around and accept the wolf." Princess Celestia then turned to Rainbow Dash, who scowled.

"I will cast a lengthened cloud-walking spell on whichever wolf stays with Rainbow Dash, which will allow them to stay in her cloud-home without falling through. I will also lend one of Canterlot's many hot air balloons to that wolf, so that they can ascend to Rainbow Dash's home." Rainbow Dash blinked, dumbfounded.

"What? Why would you spend so many resources just to teach me about whatever the hay it is you want to teach me? It's completely unnecessary!" Rainbow Dash protested. In response, Princess Celestia just shook her head sagely.

"No, Rainbow Dash, it is far too important that each of you ponies learns of what these wolves have to offer, and that they do the same. When Weakness arrives, we will have only what we have learned with us to defeat him." Twilight Sparkle stepped forward, and asked the Princess a question.

"You keep mentioning this 'Weakness'. Who or what is it?" Princess Celestia turned to face her, and answered.

"You recall having to fight Discord?" Twilight and her friends all nodded. "Weakness is Discord's… companion, so to speak. He behaves like him, and spreads weakness throughout Equestria. It is the Elements of Strength's duty to overcome him when, and he certainly will, show up." Twilight nodded again, understanding.

"Now, we must have all twelve of you describe yourselves, so that you will have more information to go on when you choose with whom you stay. Applejack, if you would please go first?" Applejack looked at her questioningly, but knowing better than to go against the wishes of the Princess, began.

"My name is Applejack, and ah am a hard-workin' farm pony responsible for producin' just about mos' of Ponyville's produce. Ah am the element of honesty. Ah have two siblings, an' we live at Sweet Apple Acres with our grandmother." She spoke loudly and punctually, but with a strong accent and rounding off the occasional word. She then turned to the princess.

"Is 'at enough?" The Princess smiled, and nodded.

"Yes, that is enough. We don't want this to drag on too long, after all. Twilight, your turn." Twilight cleared her throat, and began.

"My name is Twilight Sparkle. I am princess Celestia's star pupil, and am living in Ponyville to learn about friendship so that we may be able to use the elements of harmony more effectively, and to study magic. I live at the Ponyville library with my assistant, Spike. I am the element of magic." Twilight closed her eyes while speaking and moved her head slightly, as if lecturing us. She seemed very smart, in a way very similar to Irae. I noticed Irae perk up upon hearing Twilight Sparkle mention living in a library, so I imagined that she was hoping to be able to live there as well, per the Princess's plan. After Twilight finished, the white-coated unicorn mare spoke, not waiting to hear who the Princess wanted to speak next.

"My name is Rarity, and I am among the finest dress makers and clothing designers of Equestria. I live in the Carousel Boutique with my younger sister. I am the element of generosity." Her manner of speaking was exaggerated, and while her speech wasn't long it was clear to me that it was nothing short of bragging. And anyway, how could one make a business of making dresses? It was confusing to me because we wolves had never found clothing necessary, and in fact completely abandoned it a few years ago, deciding that wearing it even for special events was unnecessary. Maybe these ponies were different? Although from what I saw, many still did not wear clothes.

The bubbly pink pony spoke next, hopping from hoof to hoof in excitement. Her voice was upbeat and rushed, clearly indicating the boundless excitement that the earth pony had.

"My name is Pinkie Pie and I live at Sugar Cube Corner and I like to bake pastries and cookies and cakes and muffins and all sorts of super-duper tasty treats! I'm happy that all of you wolves are here to stay, and even though RD thinks you're all mean and stinky I think that you're nice and you helped that Pegasus so you must be good guys! I am the element of laughter!" She spoke unnaturally fast, and I got the impression that if she could physically speak any faster, she would.

That left two ponies, Rainbow Dash and an olive-yellow Pegasus mare with a bright pink mane streaming down her face, covering one eye. Neither took the initiative to speak. Rainbow Dash was still steaming, and when we all looked at her expectantly, she huffed and shook her head. "FINE, let's get this over with!"

"My name is Rainbow Dash, and I am the fastest flier in Equestria. I am also the coolest and most radical Pegasus in the whole world EVER. I am the element of loyalty." She spoke surely and steadily, like she had practiced saying her speech many times, or was accustomed to. Her speech was also the shortest, betraying her annoyance and barely contained anger. She also had a habit of putting unnecessary amounts of emphasis on certain words.

That left only one pony, the yellow Pegasus. Seeing us staring at her expectantly, she gulped and cowered behind her mane shyly. Princess Celestia, being accustomed to the mare's shyness, spoke.

"Fluttershy, please. These are your friends, and I assure that they will not judge you harshly." She glanced at us quickly, as if threatening us to conform to her words. Fluttershy nodded slowly, and spoke from behind her mane.

"M-my name is F-Fluttershy. I live with animals because I think that they are very n-nice and I like to take care of them." Her soft voice got quieter and quieter, to the point where only she could hear herself. She gulped again, and finished. "I-I am the element of k…k-kindness." She squeaked, and retreated back, having finished her speech.

"Fluttershy is a very fitting name for her," I mused, an amused smirk on my face. Seeing Fluttershy's hurt expression at having noticed me, I furrowed my brow in compassion.

'Remember what the Princess said, Haste.' I thought, and saw Fluttershy look away.

"Oh hey now, I didn't mean any offense," I quickly said, and was about to raise a paw in an assuring manner when I remembered that doing so would tip me over. 'Son of a bitch,' I thought. 'It's gonna take a while to get used to this 3-legged thing.'

I saw that princess Celestia was about to speak, but before she could open her mouth Lunarescense stepped forward, and voiced her own question.

"But, Princess, what about me? Do I have anything to do with this, or can I go home to my parents now?" Celestia exchanged a quick glance with her sister, Luna.

"Yes, you may go." Princess Celestia turned to the two guards standing by the entrance. "Guards! Prepare a chariot for Miss Lunarescense here!" Lunarescense fidgeted uncomfortably, then, in a quiet tone of voice, said, "No, please, I don't mean to be a bother. I'm a Pegasus, I can fly home."

"With your wings in casts? I'm impressed you're standing unaided right now, you were wounded pretty seriously. It is no trouble at all, please just take one of our chariots." Lunarescense knew better than to argue with Celestia, so she just nodded her head timidly and scurried off.

Princess Celestia then turned to us twelve ponies and wolves.

"Now, we must decide who is staying with whom. It is important that you all take this seriously, because the very future of Equestria depends on you all getting along and strengthening your element's powers." Princess Celestia turned to each one of us as she spoke, and we all nodded ever so slightly, to tell her that we understood. Save for Rainbow Dash, though. She just huffed, her nostrils flaring agitatedly.

"Princess, can we choose who will be stayin' with us?" Applejack asked, saying what most of us were thinking. Celestia only nodded. "Good. Because if we have to house one of you wolves, we can't have y'all freeloadin' offa us. So I would very much like it if the strong one, Beque, stayed with us. At least you look like you can hold up your end." Buque just nodded, agreeing. His large, double-bladed axe-horn tipped as he moved his head.

Irae spoke next, her slightly accented voice ringing punctually.

"If it isn't too much trouble, I would very much like to stay with Twilight Sparkle. She mentioned living in a library, and I'm a big fan of books, so…" Irae trailed off, but we all understood what she was getting at.

"Of course, it's no problem. It's always great to have another book enthusiast around, sometimes it seems like I'm the only one here." Twilight said, and smiled. Irae seemed to relax somewhat, seeing Twilight's friendly demeanor.

The fashionista, Rarity, took the initiative next, and turned to Advocacy. "I should think that Advocacy will be staying with me and Sweetie Bell. He seems talented enough with that horn-thing of his, and could help me with my cloth." Advocacy frowned, not only because he detested the idea of making dresses, but also because a wulfir's blade was not used for physical labor, such was tradition back in Proudcrag. A blade was either a status symbol, or a weapon. Never a tool.

"I also believe that I can make Advocacy behave like a proper pony, err, wolf. He claims to dislike royalty, and I think that is ridiculous. Perhaps he can learn a thing or two, hmm?" Advocacy scoffed, but Rarity ignored him.

"Alright, does anypony else know who they wish to house or stay with?" Princess Celestia asked, looking at the remaining five ponies and wolves, and me. Fluttershy muttered something, and Princess Celestia noticed.

"What was that, Fluttershy?"

"I-I was just wondering, if it's not too much trouble, if P-Passion wanted to stay at my h-house. I mean, i-it's no trouble at all, I have an extra room and everything…" Fluttershy spoke very quietly, and very quickly. Princess Celestia turned to Passion, and raised an eye questioningly, baiting an answer from her. Passion stuttered, then spoke.

"Oh, yeah, sure! I would love to stay with you, Fluttershy. You seem nice, unlike some of your friends here," Her voice was laced with the slightest hint of malice, and I could tell that she harbored a grudge for Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Passion wasn't one to get angry at somepony easily, but the two ponies attacking her friends unprovoked must have really ticked her off.

"I guess that means the tiny wolf can live wish me!" Pinkie exclaimed. Deer instantly scowled, his tiny teeth protruding from his maw like needles. Deer wasn't angry often, but he could really be vicious when he was pissed. Fortunately, he was just annoyed that Pinkie called him 'tiny'. Pinkie, oblivious to Deer's reaction, continued speaking. "Oh, it'll be great, and we can have fun at the park, and we can have parties every day! Oh my gosh, now that I have my own house, I can have parties once, no, twice a day!" Princess Celestia coughed, and Pinkie Pie quieted down.

"Now, Pinkie, as excited as you must be, I think it's best that you hold off on destroying your new home for now." Pinkie nodded excitedly, agreeing, and stepped back.

I turned to Rainbow Dash, who was staring at the ground in front of her, bored. She noticed I was looking at her, and barked at me.

"What?"

I only tilted my head at her, as if saying, 'Well?' Rainbow's eyes widened, and she began to protest loudly.

"What?! No, he's not staying with me! Just get him another house; I don't want a no-good, stinking, stupid WOLF living in my house!" Rainbow Dash's tirade took everyone aback, and Princess Celestia was the first to respond.

"Rainbow Dash! I don't care what you think of Haste, or why, but this is for the good of Equestria as a whole, and unless you two resolve your differences, I will have no choice but to put you under temporary arrest. Your personal problems are not to replace your duty to Equestria and the throne as an Element of Harmony!"

Rainbow Dash deadpanned. Princess Celestia had raised her voice at her in anger, which was bad news. Rainbow scowled once more, but decided to put aside her anger. At least until she wasn't near the Princess.

"Are you done, Rainbow Dash?" The princess asked, impatiently. Rainbow nodded begrudgingly. "Good. Now, please try get along with each other, the reason that you are living together is to build friendships between you. I don't want any hate or negativity. Weakness is on his way, and we have only until he shows up to strengthen the Elements of Strength." Princess Celestia then turned to me.

"Haste, I understand that you are going through a difficult time right now, and that it will take a lot of effort to overcome your elemental overdose. Please, take it easy; we don't want you killing yourself." I nodded. "Your chariots are waiting outside, I suggest you hurry if you want to make it home before nightfall. Pinkie, speak to Mrs. Cake about the whereabouts of your new house; she has been informed of the change and will show you to the building. Rainbow Dash, Haste, there will be a hot air balloon at Twilight's library. As for the cloudwalking spell…" Princess Celestia's horn lit up, and I could feel my three paws begin to feel numb. The numbness grew, then disappeared just as quickly as it came.

"There. The spell should remain in effect for several months, possibly even years. I will check up on you after six months to renew the spell, if the need arises." Princess Celestia motioned to the two guards standing at the main doors. They opened them, and we could see several chariots outside.

"Now go, we have spent enough time here. Remember what I said, and please, take this seriously."

We all said our goodbyes, and left the castle. Outside, the sun was just beginning to set, and its fading light cast gold streaks across the puffy purple clouds. A light breeze swept through our fur, and we approached the chariots thinking about the conversation that just took place. I was wondering about Dash's hostility towards me when I heard a voice calling me.

"Haste! Haste! Wait up!" I turned to see Lunarescense approaching us, her white mane trailing behind her like an ethereal mist. She reached me, and threw her front legs around me in a hug. I precariously raised my one front leg, and wrapped it around her shoulders, returning her gesture.

"I just wanted to say bye, and thanks for rescuing me. I wish we could have escaped without you getting hurt, and I know how much you had to give up to help me. If you ever need anything, I am always willing to return the favor." She pulled away from me, and I could see tears in her eyes. I smiled comfortingly, but was rudely interrupted by a retching noise behind me. I looked behind me to see Rainbow Dash gagging exaggeratedly. Rolling my eyes, I turned back to Lunarescense.

"Hey, it's the least I could do. If anything, I should be thanking you for giving me a reason to get out of there." Lunarescense smiled back before giving me another hug, and trotting to her waiting chariot.

I looked to my friends and the other six mares, who were already in the chariots that Princess Celestia had provided for us. I skulked up to one, and climbed inside. Beque, Deer, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash all sat inside. I thought about sitting in the other chariot for a moment, but one of the pulling-pegasi closed the chariot door behind me, making my decision for me. I sat down beside Rainbow Dash, with Beque and Applejack across from us.

As we lifted off of the ground, I thought about what had happened to us over the past few days, and about what the future had in store for us.

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Thanks for reading, please review! The only profit that I get from writing these is recognition for a job well done, and I am more than satisfied with that!


	5. Chapter 5

And thus, the past chapter is completed!

I could have probably waited a bit more to turn this part and the last one into one larger chapter, but I felt the need to remind you guys that, yes, I still write.

Thanks for the reviews, they really help me stay motivated to write. If you have stories of your own, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Somepony asked me about OCs. I would be very excited to see what kind of characters you guys come up with, and am happy to provide a new medium to create characters in. I can't guarantee that I will put them in, but hey, if they're cool and I feel that I can have fun writing about them, I will put them in.

Also, I wish to explain my view of MLP. I know that a lot of people have different views; some see MLP in a sexual way, and some enjoy making the world more adult with violence and other themes. I personally see MLP as a great setting for me to work in, with characters and a backstory included. I am shit at creating worlds to tell my stories in, so after finding MLP I knew that I wanted to write fanfiction about it.

My stories will not contain sex, grimdark, or extreme violence. While I do tolerate those who enjoy that, I don't enjoy it myself.

I'm also not going to pull a Hussie on you by killing off my characters. I love them and will keep them forever and ever.

* * *

The sun was setting, and my fur bristled in the wind as the chariot carrying Applejack, Beque, Deer, Rainbow Dash and me flew over the vast fields between Canterlot and Ponyville. Applejack was sitting opposite from me, and was looking nervously between Rainbow Dash and me, obviously aware of the tension between us. Beque sat next to her, oblivious to the world around him. He had his eyes closed, and was just calmly sitting. His large, double-bladed axe-horn scraped lightly across the ceiling of the chariot. Deer sat on the floor, pressed against Beque's legs. His eyes were also closed, and he seemed tired out after everything that happened today.

Then there was Rainbow Dash. She sat crosslegged, leaning against the wall of the chariot and facing me and Applejack. However, she was not focusing on Applejack and me, and was instead just staring blankly out the window between us. Wisps of rainbow-colored hair slipped over her face, pulled by the wind. The fur under her eyes was matted ever so slightly by tears shed earlier, and her bright magenta eyes twinkled in the evening sunlight. It occurred to me that, truthfully, Rainbow Dash was attractive. For a pony, at least.

"What?" I was snapped out of my thoughts by Rainbow snapping at me agitatedly. Her eyebrows were furrowed in a scowl.

"…oh? Sorry, I was just thinking." I deadpanned. Rainbow looked at me pointedly for a moment, then rolled her eyes and turned her head away. I looked to Applejack, who glanced back at me almost apologetically.

'What did I do to piss her off? Why was she mad at me? Surely I didn't offend her,' I pondered. 'And why was Rainbow crying when I was telling the Princess my story? Maybe she was reliving a painful memory? But that couldn't be it; she cried when I was talking about how my life was before, there wasn't anything that could constitute a painful memory.'

I huffed, pissed that I couldn't figure out what ailed Rainbow Dash. 'Screw it, I'll just force her to tell me. I'll keep asking until she can't take it anymore.'

"Hey, Haste." I turned to Applejack, who had addressed me. "Listen, ah just wanted to say that ah was sorry for what happened back at th' hospital. Ah was worried about the ponies that were there, and I thought that maybe y'all hurt them. You understand, right?" I raised an eyebrow, recalling how she, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight had confronted them.

"Oh, that. Don't worry about it, I've forgiven you."

"Really? Because you looked ready to kill me when ah hurt you and your friend, Passion." Applejack looked down at her hooves, ashamed. "Is she… is she your special somepony?"

"No, we're just close friends." I wasn't surprised by her question, many wolves who didn't know Passion thought that we were together. It was just her nature to be friendly to everywolf, and to be kind and compassionate.

Applejack began to say something, then hesitated. I turned to her expectantly.

"Have you… have you ever killed a pony?" Her question was blunt, and seemed like it was really difficult for her to ask.

'Almost as though it were personal,' I thought. I took a deep breath, expecting the worst, and answered.

"Yes. Yes I have." Applejack frowned slightly, but otherwise seemed to take my response well.

"What did they look like?" She asked. I paused to recall what they looked like.

"There was one stallion, several years ago, who wandered into the forest when Proudcrag was hunting. He had a dark red coat, and a greenish mane. I don't remember him very well. More recently though, a purplish mare got lost in the Everfree forest, and I caught her. That happened about five or so months ago." I turned to Applejack, who had a sad expression on her face. "Don't think that I think back on it happily. It's never easy to kill somewolf innocent, who did nothing wrong but be at the wrong place at the wrong time." Applejack nodded, but I don't think she understood.

"Why do you ask?" Applejack looked up, and I could see that she was biting down on her lip, surpressing emotions. "Applejack?"

"Mah… mah parents were killed by wolves just after Applebloom, mah sister, was born. A pack attacked our farm, and found them in the orchards. Applebloom is too young to remember, but ah think that she is wondering why other fillies at school have parents and she doesn't."

"I'm sorry. It's understandable if you hold a grudge against us wolves, it must have been terrible to have your parents taken away from you like that." Applejack cracked a sad smile.

"Ah certainly hate wolves, but ah can make an exception for you and your friends, Haste. Ah'm just worried about how Big Mac will react when he sees this big lug here," she prodded Beque on the leg with her hoof, but he didn't react. "Big Mac never bothers to hide his distaste for you folk."

"I'm sure it will work out fine. Your brother just needs to-"

"Will you two just SHUT UP?!" Rainbow Dash interrupted me. "Applejack, how can you be tolerating this freak? Wolves like him killed your parents! No-good, pony-murdering wolves! He said himself that he killed ponies, he should be locked away in the Canterlot dungeons!"

"Now wait just a minute here, RD! Haste has recognized the wrongs that he did, and is trying to atone for them! In fact, he already has! He rescued a wounded Pegasus, and lost his leg doing it."

"Yeah, a Pegasus that HE HIMSELF WOUNDED!"

"The point is, Haste has changed, and everypony but you thinks that he is a good wolf now. Back then, he was influenced by his pack, and had no other choice but to hunt alongside them. And you better learn to get along with Haste, or you will be answering to the Princess!" Rainbow Dash scowled, and bared her teeth. The Pegasus was certainly a spiteful mare when angry.

"Whatever! You go ahead and believe that three-legged freak, but when he tries to kill you, don't come crying to me!" With that, Rainbow hopped off of her seat, and flew out the window, presumably to fly alongside the chariot.

Rainbow Dash's words stung. She truly believed that I was evil, that I wanted to hurt her and her friends. As glad as I was that Applejack defended me, I was worried about how Rainbow Dash would act towards me now that we had to live together.

I turned to Applejack, who gave me a comforting smile.

"Don't worry about RD, Haste. She jus' needs some time to warm up to you is all. Ah'm sure you two will be get along just fine."

"Yeah, don't let that bitch get to you, man!" I turned to Deer, who had just spoken his own encouragement, albeit a bit brashly. Applejack, however, was less than pleased with Deer's words.

"Now hol' on a minute! Rainbow might be actin' mighty hostile, but that doesn't mean you can insult her like that! She's a nice pony, and you just got on her bad side. Ah will not have you calling my friends that, y'hear?" Deer nodded apologetically. "Sorry, won't happen again."

"Anywho, let's talk about somethin' else." Applejack turned to Beque. "Beque, if you want to stay with us, you're gonna have to help out around the farm. My brother and ah could sure use some help with the orchards, with it bein' harvest season an' all." Beque simply nodded, his eyelids drooping lazily over his eyes.

"He don't talk much, does he?" Applejack asked me. "Not if he doesn't have to." Applejack laughed.

"Beque, you're a lot like my brother. Ah'm sure you two will get along jus' fine." Beque half-smiled. I could tell that he was troubled about meeting Applejack's brother Big Mac after hearing of his opinion of wolves.

I turned to the window beside me and looked out into the night. The sun had now completely set, and a veil of purple had been cast over everything. I could hear wingbeats, but they were coming from the pegasi pulling the chariot. Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be seen.

"Please don't be mad at Rainbow, she's just a really bad judge of character, is all." Applejack said, and I turned back to her.

"I'm not. There are bound to be ponies here who don't accept us wolves, and for good reason. Hopefully with time we will be able to show them otherwise, but for now we will just have to try and prove that we are trustworthy." Applejack agreed. Just then, the chariot began to descend. I looked out the window to see a town a head of us, with an occasional lit lantern illuminating nearby houses. No ponies were out; the entire town was asleep.

Moments later we touched down just outside Ponyville. We climbed out of the chariot, and Beque apologized for the nick in the doorframe caused by his large axe. I bid farewell to my friends, and we all split up to go our separate ways, eager to get a good night's rest. Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be seen, so I followed Irae and Twilight to the Ponyville library. We walked quietly through Ponyville, and spoke very little. Upon reaching the library, which turned out to be a very large, hollowed out tree, Twilight showed me the hot-air balloon that was parked nearby. She gave me a quick lesson on how to use it, and pointed me towards Rainbow's home. A few minutes later I was ascending over Ponyville once more.

Using the hot-air balloon was relatively simple. A few tips and pointers from Twilight were useful, and I managed to reach Rainbow Dash's house. And oh, what a house it was. It was a veritable palace, built of clouds and rainbow waterfalls. It was unfortunately difficult to see because of the night's darkness, but even then it was magnificent. Rainbow Dash must have been really wealthy to be able to afford this kind of house!

I floated up to the edge of the cloud-island that the house seemed to be built up out of, and propped the hot-air balloon against it. 'Here goes nothing,' I thought, and hopped out of the balloon's basket, somewhat precariously because of my handicap.

The cloud was soft and absorbant, like a large cotton ball. I pawed around on it for a bit, getting a feel for the rigidity of this new material. 'Damn, this is really comfortable. I could just lounge around on it for hours.'

I decided to go find Rainbow Dash, if she was even here. I had no idea where to go, and I would hate to wind up sleeping in, say, her bedroom unknowingly.

'No you wouldn't,' whispered my brain and I shut my eyes tightly, stopping in place. 'Brain, shut the fuck up.'

I was about to continue into the house when a figure flew up in front of me, and dropped down to the cloud.

"THERE you are," said an annoyed Rainbow Dash, scowling at me.

"Hey. Miss me?" I grinned, and got a glare in response. "Shut up and follow me, Twilight says I need to give you somewhere to sleep. If it were up to me, you would be sleeping down there, in a bush where you belong." Rainbow turned away from me, and walked into the house through an open door. I followed close behind.

"C'mon Dash, why the attitude? I haven't done anything to you."

Dash responded without stopping or turning around. "That doesn't mean you won't. How do I know you aren't planning on cutting me up right now? Your friend Irae was ready to back at the hospital."

"That's only because you girls attacked us, and we were defending ourselves."

"Whatever. Fuck you." Rainbow Dash spat.

'I wouldn't mind…' My brain muttered. I mentally kicked myself to stop any further straying thoughts.

"Here, this is your room. Don't mess it up, or I'll drop-kick you off this cloud." We stopped at a door, and Dash opened it to reveal a small room with a round window and a bed under it. Moonlight poured through the window, illuminating untidy sheets.

"There's not much here to mess up," I commented, and Rainbow Dash snorted. "Whatever. Don't wake me up." With that, she trotted down the hallway towards where I assumed her room was.

"Goodnight, I guess!" I called after her, but she didn't respond. I stalked into the room, and closed the door behind me. Hidden to me earlier, I noticed what appeared to be a beanbag made of cloud in the corner of the room, and a second window in the wall adjacent to the first.

I tidied up the bed, then crawled inside. The sheets were made of cloth, unlike the bed which was made of cloud.

'God, this bed is comfortable. I don't care that the room is small, this bed more than makes up for it.'

I rolled over.

'I wish Rainbow didn't hate me. Applejack said she's usually nice, but I'm not seeing it. Maybe in time…'

I rolled over again.

'I also need to stop thinking about Rainbow that way. As… cute as she is, she's a pony. What'll the others think?'

With that, I fell asleep.

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Thanks for reading, please review!

The next chapter will be much larger, so expect a wait.


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